Brady's Bits

Katherine doesn't model anymore. "I began so young," she said. "It was just something I did as a child. But it helped with acting, because I'm conditioned to the camera and lights." She just finished a new movie. "It's a cute independent film called 100 Girls, about a college boy who meets a girl in an elevator during a blackout and afterward tries to find her, even though he doesn't know what she looks like." I asked Katherine, who lives in L.A., if she's return East to work onstage. "I used to be terrified of a live audience," she said, "but now I could handle it. Not broadway though. Maybe off-Broadway. Or off-off to start." Despite her roles in films, she has little training. "My dad always wanted me to study. It actually would've been good for me. But not singing. Dance, sure. I loved modern dance. I was never an athlete in high school because, with modeling and acting, I couldn't be on a team." And does she get mail from people convinced "aliens" are in fact living on earth? "Maybe the show gets some," she said, "but they don't show it to me."

In Step With Katherine Heigl by James Brady

Will Katherine Heigl of New Canaan, Conn, be our new "favorite alien"? She plays one on TV in Roswell. Her dream? Not Mars or Venus but a year in Paris.

Remember that famous "alien space-ship" some people still believe actually landed in 1947 near Roswell, N.M., about 90 miles from the Texas line? The feds deny all. That hasn't stopped Roswell, the WB network's drama series, from exploring the possibility of aliens among us.

Which is why I was interviewing Katherine Heigl, who plays one of the three teenage aliens - the beautiful female one, of course - and comes not from outer space but from the moneyed suburb of New Canaan, Conn. How is the series doing?

"It seems to be going well with the critics and audience," said Katherine. "They bought a full season of 22 episodes. But I don't track the ratings closely." How is the schedule? "We have some long days that start at 6 a.m. and go till 9 p.m," she said. "And each episode has a new director. I'm from film, so I'm used to one director for the entire film." Had she ever visited Roswell? "We actually film at Paramount and at desert-looking locations near L.A.," Katherine said.

Ms. Heigl just turned 21 but has been working since she was 9, starting with modeling, then commercials, which led to films. At 16, she played Gérard Depardieu's daughter in My Father, the Hero. The following year, she played Steven Seagal's niece in Under Siege 2. And then came the TV role of Peter Fonda's daughter in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Somehow she managed to graduate from high school. No college?

"Initially, my dream was to go to college," said Katherine. "Then my career was going so well, and it was time to move to L.A. I'd like to take nonmatriculating courses. My mom got me a Shakespeare course on tape, so I'm studying that."

Ms. Heigl is a pretty savvy kid who seems to learn as she goes along. "On the Steven Seagal movie, I learned about martial arts from his protégés," she said. "I've even done kick-boxing. I love the poise required."

"My dream is to live in Paris for a year," Katherine added. "My excuse will be that I really want to learn French." She doesn't need excuses. What Frenchman would object?