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Today, 21 November 2009

› SACP attacks Malema

› JZ hails Miss World effect

› R55m for SAPS in Sudan

› Hero pilot in sharky landing

› Mandela Bay mayor booted

Yesterday, 20 November 2009

› Pretoria cops chase, kill

› Heat on BEE lawbreakers

› Oprah calls time on show

› Youth leader says sorry

› SACP attacks Malema

Hilary Swank has tirelessly toiled away in the television doldrums before delivering, arguably the year's most arresting performance in the indie drama, "Boys Don't Cry".

Born on July 30 1974 in small college town Bellingham, Washington, Hilary Ann Swank pursued her two passions - athletics and drama - with much fervour from a young age. A strong swimmer, she competed in the Junior Olympics as well as in the Washington state championships and also ranked fifth in the state for gymnastics. An impressive early stage debut as Mowgli in "The Jungle Book" ensured Swank's regular presence on the local theatre scene.

At 16, the ambitious Swank moved to Los Angeles in search of professional acting gigs. She notched up some cameos in the sitcoms "Harry And The Hendersons", "Growing Pains" and "Evening Shade" before landing a recurring role opposite Jay Mohr and Jerry O' Connell in the short-lived comedy series, "Camp Wilder" (1992).

That same year, Swank made her big screen debut in the feature film that inspired the hit TV show, "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", playing best friend Kimberly to Kristy Swanson's Buffy. In 1994, Swank beat out hundreds of girls from around the country to become Ralph Macchio's successor in the Karate Kid franchise. Playing a troubled orphan trained in the martial arts by Noriyuki, Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi in "The Next Karate Kid", Swank combined her athletic and dramatic skills to deliver a dedicated performance.

But the film bombed at the box-office and Swank returned to the small screen to star in the made-for-television movie based on truth, "Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story" (1994). In 1997, she signed a contract to appear in 16 episodes of Aaron Spelling's popular series, "Beverly Hills 90210". She played Carly Reynolds, a single mom who became the object of affection for Steve Sanders (show regular Ian Ziering). After her stint on "Beverly Hills 90210", Swank married Rob Lowe's younger brother, Chad.

She then threw herself into a string of made-for-television features like "Dying To Belong" (1997), "Terror In The Family" (1997) and "The Sleepwalker Killing" (1997). Swank also played a lead role in the drama series "Leaving L.A." (1997), but the show was sadly cancelled after just six episodes.

With her break-through role still proving very much elusive, Swank continued to work on the big screen, appearing in the B-grade horror "Sometimes They Come Back... Again" (1996), the crime-thriller "Kounterfeit" (1996) and the indie productions "The Way We Are" (1997) and "Heartwood" (1998).

But in 1999, Swank finally got the break she deserved when she won the coveted role of the gender-bending real-life cult figure, Brandon Teena, in Kimberly Pierce's powerful "Boys Don't Cry".

Writer-director Pierce spent four years auditioning hundreds of people for the part. When Swank arrived for her audition, she wore a baggy flannel shirt, tucked her blonde locks under a cowboy hat and swaggered over to Pierce's secretary who assumed she was a man. Says Pierce: "Most girls can't suddenly be boys. I saw all these great, wonderful actresses, but they could not do the boy thing. They'd strut around, they'd wink, you know. But they couldn't bring the sexuality out. [Hilary] was wearing a cowboy hat and had this gorgeous jaw, great big ears, wonderful teeth, big brown eyes, an Adam's Apple. She had the confidence and charisma, but most of all she had a smile. [There] it was. This beam came across the screen."

Swank's performance in "Boys Don't Cry" rocketed her from relative obscurity to becoming the toast of Tinseltown. Already, she has picked up a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for the role. She has also been nominated for an Academy Award, competing against accomplished veterans Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening come Oscar night.

Says Swank on her transformation into Brandon Teena: "To do the movie justice, because it was so close to a lot of people's hearts, it was very important to me to actually pass as a boy, to live as a boy, which I did for six weeks." Swank cut her hair, trained to deepen her voice, strapped her breasts in bandages and placed socks in her crotch.

After shooting, says Swank, "It took about four weeks for me to detox from masculinity. I felt like I had lost every ounce of femininity and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get it back."

Now, after soaring to the ranks of Hollywood's A-list, Swank will next appear in Sam Raimi's thriller "The Gift", opposite Keanu Reeves and Cate Blanchett. Thereafter, she will star as a French aristocratic beauty in "The Affair of The Necklace".