Hoovering up the chances

GLANCING at Naomi Watts’ curriculum vitae, one could be forgiven for presuming that the 43-year-old actress has a penchant for American political intrigue.

Less than a year after the release of her true-life FBI film Fair Game, Watts now stars in J Edgar, a weighty biopic that covers the life of the controversial FBI founder J Edgar Hoover.

“Who knew that little old me, from England and Australia, would be telling stories about American history?” asks Watts, who plays Hoover’s loyal secretary Helen Gandy. “It’s such a great thing but I did not know much about this story, that’s for sure. I knew a little about Hoover, but nothing about Helen Gandy. It was a real history lesson for me.”