It's off with the armour and off with the clothes for Paris Jefferson's latest role, she tells STEVE PRATT

WHEN I tell Paris Jefferson that she's more Michelle Pfeiffer than Kathy Bates, she takes the remark as it was meant - as a compliment. Usually, looks aren't raised in polite conversation with actresses but as Jefferson is taking a role played by both the aforementioned American actresses, the subject is relevant.

She's playing a New York waitress in Frankie And Johnnie In The Clair De Lune at York Theatre Royal Studio. The role was written for Bates and played on film by Pfeiffer.

As Frankie's unexceptional - i.e. plain - looks help explain why she hasn't found a man, there were claims that Pfeiffer, clearly beautiful, was miscast. When I remind you that Bates was the actress who won an Oscar as the mad and unattractive psycho in Misery, you'll understand what they meant.

"The play was supposed to be about two fairly ordinary people finding love, so casting Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer in the film seemed odd. But it's fine for them. The film script was very different to the stage play. Just about anyone can do the play," explains Jefferson.

Judging by her looks, you surmise that York director Damian Cruden has been influenced more by Pfeiffer than Bates.

Whatever his reasons, audiences will be seeing much more of Jefferson as she has to be naked during the play. That didn't worry her, until she saw just how small the Studio Theatre is, and how close the audience will be to her. "I was a little bit thrown when I saw how intimate it was," she admits.

She was born in this country, raised in Australia and works frequently in America. Ask where she feels at home and she replies: "That's a very good question. Right now when I go to Australia, it's completely familiar to me because I grew up there. My mum lives here, my dad lives there and I have extended family in both places."

She admits to finding something a bit foreign about a character like Frankie, who hasn't done much with her sheltered life. "I left Australia by myself with just 400 bucks and a few telephone numbers," she says. "I did a road trip across America and have flown to countries by myself. If I put my mind to something I think I can probably do it. So Frankie's behaviour is kind of sad and unfamiliar to me."

She first went to the US to study acting and then won a role in the mini-series A Will Of Their Own, opposite Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway. Since then she's been here, there and in Australia on TV, film and stage projects. The one that's brought her most fame is Athena in cult TV show Xena, Warrior Princess.

She only appeared in three episodes of the sword-and-sorcery series but caught the eye of its devoted followers. She's very tempted to accept an invitation to a Xena convention in Los Angeles in February. "It's quite nice to meet fans because most of the time I film and the only people who see it are my mum, my friends and some anonymous people out there. When you meet the people who watch, it's quite pleasant," she says.

She was back in London for a couple of weeks when her agent told her about the Frankie and Johnnie auditions. She hadn't planned to stay but the script was good enough for her to postpone her departure.

Once the run is over, she'll probably head back to America, where she made her last film The Diamond Of Jeru with Keith Carradine and Billy Zane.

"I don't feel like I have to make a decision yet about where I go. I'm in York but it could be anywhere, it might as well be Timbuktu. Australia is where I remember."

Frankie And Johnnie In The Clair De Lune plays in York Theatre Royal Studio from October 3-26. Tickets 01904 623568.