Anderson finds fit in Lady Dedlock role

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Since "The X-Files" ended, Gillian Anderson has tried to move as far away as possible from her fame as Dana Scully, the skeptical FBI agent assigned to investigate the paranormal.
In PBS' "Bleak House," she's probably completely succeeded.
As the beautiful but tragic Lady Dedlock in this six-part "Masterpiece Theatre" adaptation of one of Charles Dickens' greatest novels, only Anderson's classic profile is a reminder of Scully. "Bleak House" starts Sunday at 9 p.m.
The American actress, exquisitely dressed and coifed in high-Victorian style, her voice faultlessly English, exudes restrained grief in her role, which is pivotal to the novel's complex plot -- a typical Dickens assault on the inequity of mid-19th century British society and the cruelty of its distorted and protracted legal system.
Anderson, 37, says that from her very first reading of the script, she felt that she understood Lady Dedlock.
"And as soon as the corset and the dress and the wig went on, she just kind of came to life. She was there," the actress recalls. "I also respond very strongly to characters I have not done before ... something I can really sink my teeth into, and what's scary, and what terrifies me, because that's where I need to go," says Anderson.
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