Mira Sorvino wanted to be part of a “dumb-blonde trilogy” after winning an Oscar.
The 47-year-old thespian took home an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work portraying prostitute Linda Ash in Woody Allen’s 1995 film, Mighty Aphrodite.
And immediately after receiving the trophy, Mira made it a point to avoid typecasting by enacting an effective strategy.
"I did what I call my dumb-blonde trilogy," she told British newspaper The Independent. "There was Mighty Aphrodite, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and Norma Jean & Marilyn Monroe for HBO where I got to play lovely Marilyn Monroe. After that I started turning down dumb-blonde roles."
Ultimately Mira is happy with her professional decisions over the years.
She doesn’t feel winning an Academy Award has adversely impacted her career in any way.
“I made some maverick choices that may have cost me, but I don't think it had anything to do with the Oscar,” Mira explained. “More like I made three genre films in a row, but that was because I was dating Quentin Tarantino at the time…
“Having said that, I worked with Guillermo del Toro [in 1997 horror film Mimic] before anyone knew how great he was, and Antoine Fuqua [in 1998 action film The Replacement Killers] who has since then directed people on to Oscars."
Mira is currently promoting her new television series Intruders, which airs on BBC2.
And she believes the small screen is creating a new wave of arthouse influenced programmes.
“I was offered television series every year – ones that are very big and successful now – and I turned them down. But there came a point where the scripts became really daring and exciting – like independent films except with budget and reach,” Mira said. “Matthew McConaughey's turn in True Detective completely blew me away… that's some of the best male acting I've seen and it's on TV and the writing is superb. This medium is the brave new world."
