Anna Friel News (Page 2)

The accolades continues to pile up for the Pushing Daisies cast.

Earlier, we reported on the honor bestowed upon Lee Pace by E! Online.

Now, it's time for his on-screen love to receive attention, as Yahoo! has named Anna Friel (and Pace) as a Fresh Face for viewers to watch out for this season.

Here's how her section reads in the article:

Fresh from England, Friel has been busy on this side of the Atlantic with parts in the TV movie Perfect Strangers and the feature The Jury.

But it's her role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles that should make her a well-known presence here. Chuck is the childhood love of Ned, brought back to life by his magical touch and kept alive when he decides he can't send her back to her coffin for good.

Pushing Daisies was a hit at Comic-Con in July. During that time, the Televisionary sat down with a few of the show's cast members.

Here's a look at what Lee Pace and Anna Friel had to say:

Q: How did you get involved with Pushing Daisies?
Pace: Bryan [Fuller] created the part with me in mind. I was not looking to do TV this year but asked my manager for a copy of the script and called Bryan up, who said, "I wrote it with you in mind." I really wanted to work with Barry [Sonnenfeld, who directed the pilot]. While the pilot is great, it just keeps getting better and better with the episodes I've read already.

Q: What excites you most about the series?
Pace: Really, the character's relationship with Chuck and the psychology of the character. Getting to mine life and death in a profound way. Also, with the show's procedural element, every eight days, you dive into a new world. The episode we're shooting right now is a total caper with a Scooby-Doo feel.

Q: What are the challenges of playing a semi-comedic character?
Pace: Basic acting works. Ned doesn't think he's funny so it's about playing the reality of the character. He's not cracking jokes. It's about the pathos of the moment and the idea that it's the reality of being able to touch something and bring it back to life. There are moral obligations with Ned's condition, an appetite for life and death. Chuck makes him feel like life is good, especially because we only have one life.

And here are a few words from Friel...

Q: Why did you decide to make the leap to American television?
Friel: I had sixteen movies under my belt, Broadway, and the West End and wanted to broaden my palette of work. I came over to LA to change agents and it happened to be pilot season. I read the pilot script and was struck by how joyful and playful Chuck was. I didn't want to play the girl on the arm of some guy and US television creates the best hooks for its characters.

Q: How similar or dissimilar to your character Chuck are you?
Friel: I'm much more anxious than Chuck. I worry about things and certainly don't wake up every day feeling that it's a fresh start and a beautiful day. (Though I should.) Unlike most of the roles I've played in the past, I wasn't able to channel that mood and anxiety into the character and had to get into a different frame of mind. As for similarities, Chuck lets me express the fun, quirky side of my personality. But there is one big thing that's not similar. Unlike Chuck, I'm not American.

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Anna Friel should become a household name after a few episodes of Pushing Daisies air in the U.S.

But the British actress first made headlines after engaging in a lesbian kiss on the UK-based soap opera, Brookside. She was hailed as the next big thing, a billing she sort of lived up to across the Atlantic when she appeared in popular films such as Goal! and Rogue Trader.

However, it wasn't the sort of success initially predicted for Friel. And she was open about her frustration when it came to landing big roles:

"Every time it's me and another person down to the final two for a big, big movie, the other person gets it because they're the bigger name. Which, to be honest, totally pisses me off," the actress said a couple years ago.

Of course, her personal life has had its share of excitement: Friel has dated hunks George Clooney and Robbie Williams. But neither relationship went very far.

It wasn't until she started seeing long-time friend David Thewlis that Anna finally found someone that she could envision herself marrying. The two, while still not hitched, are committed to one another. They had their first child in 2005.

As for those professional predictions of stardom? Give Pushing Daisies a few weeks - and they'll all ring true.