London's theatres are fit to bursting with American actors - and there's more to come. The latest US star to tread the capital's boards will be Kathleen Turner, who stars in Terry Johnson's new production of The Graduate at the Gielgud Theatre in March. Filling the role of Mrs Robinson (naturally) Turner's joins an ever growing list of her fellow-countrymen who have swapped Hollywood for British greasepaint, including Kevin Spacey (The Iceman Cometh), Nicole Kidman (The Blue Room) and William H Macy (American Buffalo). The hapless Benjamin - the eponymous graduate - is to be played by Matthew Rhys, whose recent film credits include a role in Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins.
Turner recently revealed that she has been battling health problems for years, which have caused her weight to fluctuate. Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, she was forced to take powerful steroids. Unfortunately the drugs have strong side effects and soon left the once curvy star overweight and unhappy. But now she is able to fight her condition by using new miracle drugs. She explained, "These new drugs are targeted specifically at the inflammation of the joints, and they're heaven because they don't have any side effects. Before, I had a lot of bloating, anger, depression. Steroids are really heavy duty stuff, so it was pretty rough there for a few years. Now I'm almost pain-free."