USA Today

She has fallen for Ally Sheedy and been wed to Johnny Depp. And in her latest big-screen venture, Aussie actress Radha Mitchell, 31, takes on notoriously persnickety director Woody Allen by playing dual title roles in ‘Melinda and Melinda’. Although her name isn’t widely recognised, the Melbourne native has romanced major Hollywood actors — in the movies.

Mitchell, who won’t discuss her “satisfying” real-life relationship, reminisces about her many high-profile on-screen lovers.

Will Ferrell, Melinda and Melinda, 2005

A film that tells the story of one woman from two opposing viewpoints: one comical, the other tragic. In the movie, Mitchell falls for the married Ferrell. “He’s the least neurotic person you’ll ever meet. And he doesn’t feel the need to be ‘on’ all the time. There was one scene at the racetrack that Woody had us shoot for 30 takes. And then we came back and did it again the next week for another 30 takes.”

Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland, 2004

Mitchell plays the depressed wife to Depp’s Oscar-nominated turn as JM Barrie. “Johnny’s always smoking these French cigarettes and rolling them for everybody. One day, we were filming a serious scene with the kids at the dinner table, and these fart sounds started going off. The kids started giggling. Johnny had put this electronic fart machine under Julie Christie’s chair.”

Colin Farrell, Phone Booth, 2002

Mitchell’s husband (Farrell) is trapped in a phone booth by a psycho sniper. “He has infectious energy. He had everybody drunk every night. Colin drank another actor under the table until the guy passed out and had to be driven home to his wife.”

Vin Diesel, Pitch Black, 2000

Though Diesel and Mitchell’s characters were too busy battling space creatures to enjoy a romance, they still had fun. “It rained on us for two solid weeks in a studio, and we were always in the dark. But Vin managed to maintain his enthusiasm despite being tortured every day. It was like being a big kid playing superhero.”

Ally Sheedy, High Art, 1998

Mitchell is a magazine editor who falls for her upstairs neighbour, a once-famous shutterbug played by Sheedy. “I met Ally at the audition, and she looked like a woman who used to take photos of me when I was a kid. In many ways (the role) reflected her own experiences - of fame, not as a lesbian. At the time, Ally was a famous actress who had become (like her character) not-so famous.”