Water opens door for Canadian actor

Lisa Ray says the passion in Deepa Mehta's film propelled momentum
GAYLE MACDONALD
Globe and Mail

LOS ANGELES — It's amazing what a nod from the balding, gold guy can do.

Since Deepa Mehta's film Water was nominated for best foreign film by the Academy Awards, Toronto-born actress Lisa Ray's phone has been ringing off the hook.

This past week, the 34 year-old brunette has been working 15-hour days on a Hollywood studio lot auditioning for a new project with the Wachowski brothers, the same duo who created and directed the Matrix trilogy as well as V For Vendetta.

Ray plays down the impact the film's Oscar nomination has had on her career recently, but adds the success of Water has "opened a certain amount of doors."

Like her co-stars in the acclaimed film, Ray has spent much of the last three weeks at a slew of luncheons and parties in Los Angeles -- all part of a huge lobbying strategy by U.S. distributor Fox Searchlight to raise the film's profile with Academy members.

"Obviously your chances improve the more you're on everyone's radar screen," says Ray, who was voted star of the future at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, after she starred in another Mehta film, Bollywood/Hollywood. "It's been a roller coaster in terms of the amount of commitments," adds the actress, who flew down to Los Angeles three weeks ago to help Mehta promote her movie and also audition for several new films. "It's all been a bit of a blur to be honest."

Of Indian (her dad) and Polish (mom) descent, Ray grew up in Etobicoke, Ont., but has travelled to India often, and in recent years, worked there frequently. She speaks fluent Hindi, and is a household name in that country which voted her one of its 10 most beautiful women. After studying drama for three years in London, Ray has lived all over the world -- India, Paris, Toronto -- and she is now temporarily putting down roots in California, reading new scripts and talking to filmmakers who were impressed with her work in Water (where she plays a beautiful widow forced into captivity at a temple in the holy city of Varanas).

Ray describes Water as one of the most special projects she's ever worked on, but admits after filming wrapped, she jumped at the chance to do something lighter. Her next project, All Hat, is a horse-racing caper film from director Leonard Farlinger. Shot in rural Ontario, that film stars Luke Kirby, Rachel Leigh Cook and Keith Carradine.

"We wrapped that in November, and it was a completely different world [from Water,]" Ray laughs, "and probably easier for me because it's closer to who I really am."

Ray initially thought about going into journalism. But she was asked to model for a fashion magazine, and ended up on its cover. She modelled in India for a while, before attending drama school. Her first feature film was a Bollywood title.

"I wasn't one of those kids who grew up dreaming of becoming an actor," she says. "It took me by surprise. I love it. I'm glad I discovered it, or it discovered me."

Similarly, with Mehta, "We kind of found each other," Ray says of her director, friend and mentor. She adds that she knew from the moment she read Water's that the film was going to make an impact.

"In your gut, you know that kind of work will gain momentum and receive a certain amount of response," Ray says. "But it's so rare. It's so bloody rare. Unfortunately, I read a lot of scripts these days, and a lot of them are crap. They lack the element of passion that Deepa brings to all of her work. [Water] was such a huge milestone for me, personally and professionally. It was an experience such that right after we finishing filming it, we all collectively sat there and said, 'You know what, even if no one sees this film, it's been so fulfilling working on it, that's reward in itself.' "