Bridget Jones actress Renee Zellwegger admits she knew very little about Beatrix Potter, whom she portrays on the screen. But, as she tells Steve Pratt, she feels she has much in common with the childrens author C apart from the accent.

OSCAR-WINNING actress Renee Zellwegger is late. Very late. Nearly an hour to meet the regional press to talk about her new movie, Miss Potter, the story of artist and writer Beatrix Potter who created such characters as Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Jemima Puddleduck.

Eventually the rest of the cast, which includes Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson, dutifully troop into the room and start the interview without her.

When she finally joins them, she slips into her chair without a word of apology to them or us.

Her voice, when she does speak is so quiet that you have to strain forward to catch what shes saying.

Its difficult to believe that this is an actress whos held her own on screen opposite stars like Tom Cruise (in Jerry Maguire, the movie that first brought her to the publics attention), Richard Gere, Meryl Streep, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.

She even won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her performance in Cold Mountain, although to me her wild overacting reminded me of a bad impersonation of Calamity Jane. Oscar voters clearly thought otherwise, although when it came to the musical Chicago, it was co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones who took Oscar home.

Theres no doubt that she has made one role her own C Bridget Jones, the singleton heroine of Helen Fieldings novels whom Zellwegger has played, with an impeccable British accent, in two movies.

Now shes back here playing another British icon, Beatrix Potter, the most successful classic childrens author of all time. She was a remarkable woman who went against her Victorian upbringing to become a writer and, less well-known, a sheep farmer and land conservationist working with the newly-formed National Trust for the protection of threatened countryside.

Her reply to her first question causes the heart to sink because Zellwegger, asked what drew her to the role of Miss Potter, begins by saying that its a really boring answer actually. The prospect of her being not only late but uninteresting is not a happy one.

From an actors perspective, you dont often read a script that is as beautiful in its simplicity, and as rich, and yet not sensationalised in any way, she explains.

It was so compelling, and then to come to the last page of that script and say, oh, I wanna see this film. I just couldnt believe that it wasnt fiction.

What a fascinating life, and how could I know so little about this woman? It just drew me in and I wanted to know more. Its just such a beautiful story, it started with that.

Those who try to make a connection between Potters life and Zellweggers are out of luck. She must be wary of personal questions considering her past, which includes a broken engagement to actor-comedian Jim Carrey and a brief marriage to singer Kenny Chesney in 2005. It was annulled after lasting only four months.

So ask if Potter being very self-reliant, who didnt need a family or a man to live her life and be a success, was something that struck a chord in terms of her life and career, and Zellwegger sidesteps the question. I didnt think about it in terms of my own life, to be honest, she replies.

I just had a keen admiration and affection for her right away. I was fascinated by her life. I liked her, I liked her a lot. I liked her rich, internal life.

I liked that she was so witty and quick. I loved her wry sense of humour. I just thought of her as a person Id like to know, thats where a lot of the appeal came from. She made me smile.

Before going in front of the cameras, she researched Potters life and times. She knew the characters like Peter Rabbit that the artist and writer had created, but knew little of the woman herself.

She enlisted the help of the people who run Frederick Warne & Co, the original publishers of Beatrix Potter.

The love of Potters life was her publisher Norman Warne (played by Ewan McGregor C at Zellweggers suggestion, having starred with him in the romantic comedy Down With Love). He fell ill and died within weeks of their engagement. She later married a Cumbrian solicitor.

The actress was able to read some of the love letters that Potter and Warne exchanged, as well as correspondence between Potter and Normans sister, Millie. She also had the chance, through the American Beatrix Potter Society, to see letters and drawings that had been sent overseas.

Zellweggers favourite Potter character is Jemima Puddleduck. I like that shes so naive and innocent and hopeful, and she just thinks its all going to be great. And I love that dog that comes in and saves her, she says.

Of course, she had to master another English accent for Miss Potter. Her preparation was very different to that for Bridget Jones (for which she also piled on the pounds). She says the accent begins and ends with her voice coach Barbara Berkery. I never really perfect it, she does. She stands there with her whip and she makes sure that Im not lazy.

She tells me what to do and I have no choice but to listen to her, she says.

It must have helped to have played an English woman before, although she credits co-star Emily Watson C who has gorgeous diction C for assistance too.

Sometimes I would ask her say this for me, please and Id just repeat it really quickly before I forgot. Im sure that it did, but it was very different.

It was much more formal, and I couldnt get away with certain things that I might have liked to with Barbara standing there making sure my vowels were rounded.

Filming in the Lake District, where Potter lived and which she loved so much, proved a stimulating experience for Zellwegger. You really can sense the peace she found there, that she craved.

The access to all the things she liked most, the things that inspired her, the colours she used in her paintings, the quiet that allows you to sit and take it in. This would feed the womans work. You can feel it.

ö Miss Potter (U) previews in cinemas on December 30 and 31 and goes on general release on January 5.