Freedom fighter: Anna Paquin balances HBO drama with inspirational ‘Courageous Heart’

Anna Paquin feels humbled by her latest project.

The actress stars as Nobel Peace Prize nominee Irena Sendler, who risked her life to rescue Jewish children during World War II, in “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,” tonight at 9 on WBZ (Ch. 4).

“She did an absolutely extraordinary thing, and she was so young and that’s intimidating,” Paquin said in a recent interview from Los Angeles.

“I was like, ‘I make movies and TV shows and she rescued 2,500 kids out of the Warsaw Ghetto.’ I wanted to do her justice and tell that story in a way that has integrity and truth,and also is not going to be fluffy or trivial. Ultimately, her story is one of hope.”

The 26-year-old made the movie last November between seasons of HBO’s supernatural drama “True Blood,” which returns June 14. She is grateful that her industry allows her to shift between portraying a young woman in Poland nearly 70 years ago and playing a telepathic waitress in modern-day Louisiana who happens to be in love with a vampire.

“I love to challenge myself,” Paquin said. “I love to do the exact opposite of what I’ve been doing. And also, it makes it more exciting to then go back to your other part. I have the kind of looks and the kind of face that I feel like I can blend into whatever scenario. It goes along with not exactly being modelesque in your looks. You’re more chameleonlike, and I love that.”

Paquin, who won an Academy Award when she was 11 for “The Piano,” received a Golden Globe in January for playing Sookie Stackhouse on “True Blood.”

“It was exciting and flattering, and all it really means is that you get to do more,” she said.

Her Oscar win in 1993 has become akin to folklore in her own mind.

“Of course I remember it, but not in any kind of overly visceral way anymore,” she said. “It’s obviously the one thing I’ve been asked about more than anything else in my entire life. I’ve sort of retold my version of what I remember, and how much of it becomes what I remember because that’s how I’ve told it. It’s a pretty incredible thing to happen to a little kid, and I have the career I have because of it and I’m very grateful.”

Paquin is dating Stephen Moyer, who plays vampire Bill Compton on “True Blood.”

“I have a very, very ridiculously perfect setup because usually the thing about acting and relationships is someone is on the other side of the planet,” she said. “So it’s an incredible luxury to get to spend your work time and your personal time with the person you want to be with all the time.”

Source: Boston Herald / Amy Amatangelo