Wales' best known export since Tom Jones has already been animated a couple of times in 2003: firstly when receiving a best supporting actress for her performance in "Chicago"; secondly during a civil court case against Hello! magazine. Mrs Michael Douglas can now be heard lending her vocal talents to "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas".
What do you like about your character, Marina?
She's such a feisty woman with a great love of life and is a great character for an animated film. So often the princesses have the pretty dresses and they're waiting in the castle and they're the damsel in distress, but she's not that. I think it's good for young girls to see a character like Marina. She holds her own and with Sinbad she's like "Anything you can do I can do better." She's fun and she's multi-faceted.
Why did you want to be a part of such a long project?
Well, you go in and out throughout the process and you can see the character changing and forming. This is the longest role I've ever had. I've been working on this since my son was in my tummy! I was called upon to see if I wanted to do this animated film when I was pregnant, and I thought that it was perfect because I would be able to show my child what I do for a living. I wanted to be able to show my children what mummy and daddy actually do for a living, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for my son to hear me and get a sense of me on film and that I'm a different character.
What about the process of being part of an animated feature?
It's a much different technique from doing a live action film. I always thought you'd go and sink your voice to the animation but in fact, they animate to you, and so it's a long process. When I first went in, there was nothing for me to see. They painted the picture of the world they were creating and then I just went for it. Then I went back again and again as the film developed.
Did you ever work directly with Brad Pitt or were you always working on your own?
I was never with Brad Pitt! I saw him after the film was finished and told him: "OK, I want to do a real action film with you because you've been saving me for the past four years in this film and I want to do it again in real life!"
"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" is released in UK cinemas on Friday 25th July 2003.
