August 29, 2000

No Holds Barred

No holds barred. It sounds like Julianna Margulies, who turned down $27 million to continue with ER for two more seasons, could be a "macha" action star if she so chooses. In TNT's recently wrapped The Mists of Avalon mini-series co-starring Anjelica Huston, Joan Allen, Michael Vartan and Edward Atterton, Margulies "was absolutely amazing," reports Vartan. "She did some incredible stunts, fighting all these guys off . . . When you see her interviewed one day, and she says, 'I did my own stunts' in Avalon, believe her - she's the only one in the cast you could truly believe. She was the best out of all of us."

Vartan, who will pop up as a short-lived love interest for Ally McBeal this season, plays Sir Lancelot in The Mists of Avalon, a retelling of the Arthurian legend from a woman's point of view. However, Vartan says, "They shot it in a very, very dark way, so it's not at all going to come across as this lighthearted women's tale."

He adds, "There's a lot less focus on Arthur and Lancelot and fighting and the wars, and a lot more focus on the relationships of the people who lived in the fairy tale. And how screwed up all those people were, with everyone having sex with everyone else, brother having sex with sister . . . it was insane!"

Thanks to vartanetc.!

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