NEVE CAMPBELL Actress takes on new role

The film's writer-director said he's been eager to hire her.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NEW YORK -- She's 30 and feeling fearless, so Neve Campbell had no hesitation about diving into the all-encompassing sexuality of her latest movie, "When Will I Be Loved." The former "Party of Five" star plays Vera, a woman who prowls Manhattan seeking women and men to seduce, willing to trade a little sex for a lot of power -- or, in the case of a media baron (Dominic Chianese), a lot of money.
"Five years ago I would have been a bit intimidated by this role, but now I'm more comfortable with myself," Campbell says. "It's a challenge to find characters that are sexual but also intelligent. It was fun to finally embrace that, and not push it away."
The first scene in James Toback's drama is an intimate, solo moment in the shower.
"My issue with nude scenes is only when I feel that they're added just for the sake of the box office, with nothing to contribute to the film itself," she explains.
"In this case, it was necessary -- you need to see my character in a very raw place. I'm actually only naked by myself, not in the love scenes. And the story is all about Vera's sexual exploration and curiosity."
Her past
Raised in Toronto, Campbell comes from a theatrical family: Her mother ran a dinner theater when Campbell was growing up, and her father teaches high school drama classes. Both her older and younger brothers are actors.
She attended Canada's National School of Ballet, but she turned from dance to acting after an injury. When she got the role of Julia Salinger on "Party of Five" in 1994, she didn't expect the drama about a family of orphaned siblings to be a hit.
"I thought that I'd get my green card with the pilot episode, then go and do movies -- then the show went on for six years!" Campbell says. "It was a terrific experience, but it was restricting. And then I did 'Scream' (1996), and that was a horror film, which can also be limiting."
After "Scream 2" in 1997, she jumped at the chance to play a bisexual bad girl in 1998's "Wild Things," with Denise Richards and Matt Dillon.
"That character, Suzie, was more quirky than sexy, and she was not supposed to be the beautiful one," she says. "I didn't want to be the typical girl-next-door. So I tried to play weird characters."
Wanted to hire her
Toback wanted Campbell to be part of "Two Girls and a Guy," his 1997 film about a womanizer and his paramours, but Campbell's agents didn't tell her about the offer. She says she isn't turned off by Toback's reputation as an aficionado of sexuality in all its forms.
"I had been eager to hire her for a long time," says writer-director Toback. "Neve is exciting, smart and ready to try anything. What other actors find intimidating, she gets off on. And she has a great physical grace -- it makes her very unself-conscious."
Though she was married for three years to Canadian actor Jeffrey Colt, and has dated actors John Cusack and Matthew Lillard, Campbell says she can relate to her character's lifestyle.