Hollywood actress Heather Graham took a stand for British men at the London premiere of her latest film The Guru on Tuesday, following fellow American Gwyneth Paltrow’s complaints that they didn’t play the dating game the way she was used to.
The Boogie Nights star – who is the ex-girlfriend of 1980s British pop star Adam Ant – said she had never had any problems dating English men. Gwyneth, who maintains a home in London, said last week that she had only been asked out on two dates during her last stay in the UK and that British people were really “going out on a limb” if they asked you out.
But a bemused Heather responded: “I’ve had a few English boyfriends and they were aggressive enough to ask me out.”
The actress braved the rain for the premiere, dazzling the crowds outside Leicester Square’s Empire Cinema in a revealing Vivienne Westwood dress. Also attending were co-stars Marisa Tomei and British actor Jimi Mistry, plus a host of celebrity guests including S Club singer Rachel Stevens, her actor fiancé Jeremy Edwards and former model Melinda Messenger.
The Guru stars Jimi – perhaps best known as Dr Fred Fonseca in EastEnders – as a Delhi dance instructor who moves to New York and inadvertently finds himself hailed as a sex guru. Heather plays an adult movie actress schooling him in the ways of the world while Marisa is a wealthy socialite in the Bollywood-inspired comedy.
Befitting his role as a sex god in the movie, Jimi arrived at the premiere standing in an open-topped Cadillac garlanded with flowers. His co-stars were gushing with praise for the actor. Heather described Jimi as a “genius”, while Oscar-winner Marisa said: “He carries this film. He’s very charismatic, a great actor and he’s wonderful to work with. I hope he makes it in Hollywood.”
Jimi, who first turned heads Stateside in the hit British flick East Is East, was more open-minded: “I’m just going to keep going and see what happens. If I get a surprise offer to shoot aliens in the desert or something, then so be it.”
The Guru is released nationwide in the UK on August 23, and it will be hitting screens in the US sometime in October.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
