REESE WITHERSPOON has made her name playing characters who are American through and through - from Legally Blonde to Sweet Home Alabama.
But now the Southern belle is turning her hand to a very British role, of social climber Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, opening on Friday January 14.
The remake of Thackeray's classic satire of 19th century society, with its snobbery and hypocrisy, follows Becky on her determined rise from her working class roots up to the highest echelons of Victorian society.
And the 28-year-old actress admits she has a soft spot for her ambitious and ruthless character.
Becky is a survivor, she explains. "The thing I love about her is she's not the good girl and she's not the bad girl. No-one in life is either.
"Becky's perspective is all about herself, her ambition," she adds.. "The question then becomes, 'What if it's all about your own vanity and narcissism?'. What happens if you live a life that's all about yourself and has no balance?"
Directed by Monsoon Wedding's Mira Nair, the lavish costume drama stars some of the cream of British acting talent - James Purefoy as Becky's arrogant soldier husband and Bob Hoskins as Sir Pitt Crawley to name two.
And Reese admits casting an American as the heroine raised some eyebrows. But she believes it's an advantage to be an outsider.
"It's nice to be able to come to it with a fresh perspective, particularly having someone like Mira who also feels like an outsider. It gives you an opportunity to feel more free within the character. I think that's how Thackeray would have wanted it."
And the mother-of-two, who shot to fame with her roles in Pleasantville, Election and Cruel Intentions in the late 90s before joining the ranks of Hollywood's A-list, reveals she could relate to Becky.
