EACH year, one actress emerges from Sundance unofficially crowned Queen of the Indies.
Past winners of the title include Christina Ricci, Parker Posey and Maggie Gyllenhaal. This year, husky-voiced New Yorker Patricia Clarkson is the “It Girl,” with four movies at the festival.
Make that “It Woman,” for Clarkson, who is currently generating Oscar buzz as Julianne Moore’s secretly bigoted best friend in “Far From Heaven,” is a dewy 43.
“What does it say that I’m in my early forties and I’m doing all this? I think it says something really great,” says Clarkson, bundled up against the Park City chill in skinny black pants and a downy jacket.
“Independent film has never neglected women of all ages, but I think even in the mainstream this year there have been better parts for women.”
You’ll be hard- pressed to avoid Clarkson at the cineplex this year: Along with her quartet of Sundance films, she’ll appear opposite Nicole Kidman in Lars Von Trier’s “Dogville” and Joshua Jackson in “The Safety of Objects.”
The petite blonde – who’s dating Campbell Scott of “Rodger Dodger” – has been a fixture on the indie scene ever since her role as a heroin-addicted German lesbian in “High Art.”
But the New Orleans native finally exploded into the public consciousness last year, with roles in “Welcome to Collinwood,” opposite George Clooney and Sam Rockwell, and “Far From Heaven,” a performance that won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Clarkson can’t believe her good fortune – she frequently punctuates her chat with The Post by knocking on every available wooden surface.
“Remember, none of this is making me money – I just love it,” she says. “I just keep getting offered great parts with great directors and I can’t say no.”
Her four Sundance films emphasize her versatility – she plays a double-mastectomy patient in “Pieces of April,” a wacky mom in “All the Real Girls,” a sexy loner in “The Station Agent” and a 19th century royal in “The Baroness and the Pig.”
“All of the roles are completely different and she’s good in every single one!” says John Cooper, director of programming for the film festival.
“She is not known as a personality because she morphs into each character. It’s wonderful that in her early forties, she should finally be getting the recognition she deserves.”
She’s done comedy, drama and period pieces, but this workaholic actress says there’s still so much left to do.
“What I’m longing for is to play one of those parts women don’t want to play any more – you know, a lawyer, doctor or an FBI agent,” she says.
“And I really want to play a femme fatale.”
—–
THE ‘IT’ LIST
Christina Ricci
Parker Posey
Maggie Gyllenhaal