t was a miracle how I got the part," says Peta Wilson from Los Angeles. The Australian actress, known primarily for her work in the title role of the TV series La Femme Nikita, is overwhelmed at being on the brink of movie stardom.
  The sole female lead in the star-studded cast of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Wilson portrays Mina Harker, a British scientist bitten by Dracula
who becomes a vampire herself. She co-stars with Sean Connery as adventurer Allan Quatermain, Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray and Shane West who plays an adult Tom Sawyer.
  Winning the coveted role happened quickly. "I was sitting on my verandah in Australia, wondering what I was going to do next," she explains, "and the phone rang. They said Sean Connery had seen me on Nikita and the director liked me.
I read the script and loved it, and five days later, I was on a plane to Prague."
It wasn't quite that simple. The producers wanted an audition tape. The offer came while Wilson was unpacking boxes, getting settled in a new house in Sydney with her three month old son, Marlowe.
  "My uncle was on the verandah with me. He was waiting for a lung transplant and was on an oxygen machine," the actress recalls. "I borrowed a friend's video camera and my uncle filmed my audition while my grandmother held the baby. Then this motorbike arrived to take the tape and send it."
  Wilson's mother accompanied her to Prague to help look after the baby. "Sean Connery said, 'Whenever your baby needs attention, that's more important,' so it was fantastic permission," says Wilson. "Between takes, I would rip my corset off and go and nurse him. I was very happy on the film and able to be a great Mum and do good work."
  The good work includes a transition from a conservative Victorian lady to wild flying creature. "In the beginning, she's very uptight," says Wilson, "because she doesn't feed her addiction. She doesn't drink blood. But as the film goes on, she does begin to act upon the animal inside of her and ends up being the most demonic of all of them."
  To achieve the look, Wilson wore fangs and special contact lenses. "They covered my entire eye with a tiny hole to look through. They made my eyes
look blood red. When you see the film, I look totally different to how anyone's ever seen me. I've got very long, dark hair and I speak with an English accent."
  As Mina, Wilson is called upon to play a woman of super-human strength and
intellect who can fly. "I did a couple of stunts," she explains, "but they had big pros from Cirque du Soleil doing the full-on, very big stunts." Wilson worked on a wire for flying scenes, did some fighting, and says proudly, "I did jump on to a building that was at a 45 degree angle. That was difficult."
  Set in Victorian England at the turn of the century, the story is loosely based on the Alan Moore graphic novel of the same name. It brings together some of the greatest figures of classic adventure literature for a common purpose. Their mission is to stop The Fantom's evil plot for world domination.
  "They're all dark characters, - sort of anti-heroes," Wilson comments, "Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man, Dracula. They pooled them all and explained what would happen to those characters after their books."
  For five years, Peta Wilson lived in Toronto during the making of La Femme Nikita and hopes to return later this summer to visit friends. Though both Nikita and Mina are very physical roles, she found the characters quite different. "For Nikita," says Wilson, "her vulnerability is her power and for Mina, her vulnerability is her weakness."
  The power of doing LXG almost knocked Nikita right out of Wilson's head. "She's sort of a distant memory that's fading in my mind," she says. "After doing five years on a TV series and being in everything, this film was just such a great experience. Being the only woman, they treated me very well."
  During her time in Prague, Wilson lived in an apartment known by cast and crew as Mina's Lair. "It was a very gothic and opulent 18th century building," Wilson says. "Since I elected to stay with my baby in the evenings, the actors would visit and we'd have parties at my place."
  But one special night, Wilson did go out on the town. She was thrilled when Sean Connery asked her to dance. "I just sort of melted in his arms. He swings like a jazz record," she laughs. "He's very yummy and really is one of the sexiest men alive."
  Known for being in top physical condition, Wilson admits she eased off on exercise during her pregnancy. "I walked on the beach every day, I laughed a lot,
I ate really healthy food," she explains.
  "I did a lot of acupuncture and had massages and I just really softened myself and didn't worry about my body. I think it's important for a woman to be soft and feminine while you're in that state and it was important to relax."
  Now, though, Wilson says she's doing gentle exercise again. "I'm slowly working my way back into it, - a little bit of yoga, watching my diet and I try and stay happy."
  What really makes her happy is the possibility of sequels to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
  "It would be so great to do a couple more, it was that good an experience," comments Wilson.
  Several films are in development which Wilson hopes to do in the future. "A couple of comedies and a drama," she says, "so I'm having meetings here in Los Angeles. But it could all change. That's the life of an actor, - you're a wandering spirit."
  For years, casting directors have wanted to put Wilson in films, but her schedule on La Femme Nikita kept her from making the move to the big screen. When the show ended, her pregnancy put things on hold.
  LXG is expected to open doors to even bigger projects. "And if not," Wilson
says, "then I have a really beautiful child, I live in Australia on the beach, I did a great film and had a lot of fun. What impact will LXG have on my future?  Who knows? - The universe knows," she laughs.

- Elaine Loring