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CAUTIONARY TALE Apr 22 2002
By Emma Britton
DRUGS NEARLY RUINED ME, SAYS SCOTS STAR LAURA
THE Scots star of smash-hit movie A Knight's Tale
has revealed how she dragged herself out of a drugs hell
to save her career.
Laura Fraser was billed as the next big thing in 1996
after her starring role in Small Faces -
the acclaimed drama about Glasgow gangs in the Sixties.
But the 26-year-old found herself on a downward spiral
after moving to London and immersing herself in the
celebrity party scene.
She was unprepared for the showbiz lifestyle and soon
found herself hooked on drugs.
Laura, who shared a flat with former Brookside star Anna
Friel, admits that things got so bad at times that she
scarcely knew what she was doing.
She revealed: "Before, I was able to work and the
films got made but I wasn't very good in them. I was only
half there."
Looking back Laura now realises how naive she really was.
She said: "There were a few people 10 or 20 years
older than me who took advantage. They were quite bitter
cynical people who had status and were able to abuse
their power.
"I was too young to know that they weren't being on
the level with me, emotionally, spiritually or
creatively.
"I didn't really appreciate the luck I was having
and I just thought it would come indefinitely.
"Then came the drugs and the unemployment. I had to
wise up and start appreciating things more."
Her family have been a huge support, especially her mum,
whose work includes drugs counselling.
Now Laura is focusing on her passion for acting again and
after appearing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The
Man in the Iron Mask and starring in A
Knight's Tale, the Glasgow-born actress looks to
have got her life back on track.
Laura, who also appeared as a plookey teen in Kevin
and Perry Go Large, went on: "The thing for
me now is the experience of making the film, not what the
finished product might be.
"As long as I'm passionate about the material and
get to work with nice people, that's all I care about
now.
"That's my working day - making the thing. Whether
it's a blockbuster or low-budget film, I don't
particularly care."
Fraser, who is dating A Knight's Tale
co-star Paul Bettany, has just finished shooting Den
of Lions.
In the thriller about the Russian Mafia set in Budapest,
she plays an innocent young woman who is trained up to
serve the cause.
Laura, who famously had a steamy lesbian affair with
Helen Baxendale in the ITV drama The Investigator,
said: "I play quite a sexual character, which I
always find hard.
"I was quite uncomfortable with the whole thing, but
I thought I'd better do it if I wanted to move on to the
next stage in my career."
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