CapnBob

I know this is months late but I’ve been catching up with HDTGM after months away looking after sick parents (violins). It is in reference to the question in the episode asked by all the regulars and guests as to why the hell Kate Beckinsale took this role (and others). This is what I heard... I was staying at a B&B in Yorkshire, England to attend my Godson’s christening in 2004. I came down to breakfast (full English, of course) and sat opposite the only other guest at the only table in the little dining room. She was British just arrived from the US and so was I (I live in SF) so we got chatting. Turns out she was Kate Beckinsale’s recently ex-assistant (due to visa issues, apparently) and her stories were much more interesting than mine. One of which was why Kate B was making the choices she was at the time (Underworld, Van Helsing, etc.). Turns out she’d broken up with her husband, the Welsh National Treasure, Michael Sheen (Lucian the werewolf in Underworld) and had taken up with the director of Underworld, Len Wiseman (new husband as of May 2004). This was a shock to her system (and Sheen’s too, I bet) and she apparently resolved to get ‘dat ass’ into as many pairs of tight leather/vinyl/spandex pants making “hero landings” before it no longer defied gravity (she was about 30 at the time). According to this person, this explained her action hero period which has extended through most of the Underworlds (to 2016), Total Recall (remake), etc. i thought the HDTGM crowd might appreciate the info...