"I think I've survived because I've gone through a number of incarnations," she says. "Sometimes they need somebody sexy. Sometimes they needed somebody smart. I've managed to be able to morph myself into parts.

"I consider myself a character actor. That's maybe why I was able to last so long. I think I'm turning a little into Gene Hackman, though."

Wicked witch

Sarandon's Enchanted despot banishes the princess Giselle (Amy Adams) from their animated musical land to live-action Manhattan, where a lawyer (Dempsey) might be Giselle's true prince. Sarandon's dragon lady eventually follows Giselle to snuff out any happily ever after.

If some tykes are too scared, so be it, Sarandon says. It's up to Mum and Dad to decide if this witch is too much of a, well, witch.

"I remember being terrified by the dancing broom in Fantasia for some reason and having nightmares about that," she says. "The whole point of this character is that she just loves being evil."

Sarandon calls her Narissa the sensual, violent stepmom you hopefully never had. The costume and the cartoon physicality stripped the actress of the usual urge to find truth in the character, she says. It is pageantry, an extreme arm of theatre. It was a role that Sarandon concedes she would have rejected earlier for fear it would drive her crazy. Without being asked, the actress rates her performance as "a good try".

Family time

She says she has taken on more projects because her sons with partner Tim Robbins, Jack (born 1989) and Miles (born 1992), are now teenagers. Her daughter, Eva, from Sarandon's relationship with actor Franco Amurri after her divorce from actor Chris Sarandon, is 22.

Asked if her relatively secure place in show business has permitted her to treat herself on occasion, Sarandon answers, "I bought myself, for a birthday, a ring that I consider pretty expensive. I'm also fixing up my house that I had bought for my dad in Maine, and he passed away. I'm making a nice place up there and expanding it. That's kind of an indulgence. I'm not a big spender."

By Ron Dicker, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

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