MAGGIE Q wasn't supposed to play the brief but memorable role of Tina in Swiss director Marcel Langenegger's debut feature, "Deception."
The Hawaiian native auditioned for the starring role -- the femme fatale who leads lonely, innocent Ewan McGregor down a decadent, double-crossing path, littered with deceit and strewed with murder. It's a steamy part, worthy of a Hitchcock heroine.
But that role went to Michelle Williams.
"It came down to the Oscar-nominated actress, or me," Maggie says, "which I thought was hilarious."
The "Deception" director and producers should be relieved Maggie knows how to take a beating with such equanimity and grace. She is, after all, one of the few American actresses with the power to karate chop the casting couch in two. Or skewer a suit to the wall with her stiletto, having gotten her start in Asia -- where her last name was shortened from Quigley to Q by a Chinese newspaper -- kicking, punching and brawling her way through low-budget action movies.
"In the end, I took 'Live Free or Die Hard' and I was going to have nothing to do with 'Deception,' but then Marcel called my agent and said, 'Maggie has to be in this film.' And I was honored." She told them she'd love to contribute to their movie and embraced the smaller part offered.
In "Deception," Maggie plays a successful investment banker who harbors an addiction to a charismatic lawyer played by Hugh Jackman. She works such long hours she doesn't have the time or inclination for romance or a relationship. Still, she's human. She fills her needs by participating in an anonymous sex club with like-minded corporate titans in the city that never sleeps. With respect to the sex, the attitude here is, "Get it done and go back to work," Maggie says.
Besides getting in touch with her inner workaholic, another challenge was performing the whole scene in a see-through . . . well, what was she wearing? The garment, what little there is of it, is sheer naughtiness. The black silk equivalent of hot breath on a windowpane.
Maggie admits she felt exposed. "I normally don't walk across the set in my underwear. Ewan was very conscious about the fact that I was in a vulnerable state, especially with what I was wearing. He went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable."
