Anne Heche - Career

Career

Immediately after her high school graduation, Heche landed the dual role of good and evil twins Vicky and Marley on the daytime soap opera Another World. For that work, Heche received a Daytime Emmy award for "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series." Heche taped her final episode of Another World in 1991 and the following year made her primetime television debut with a small part in the made-for-TV movie O Pioneers! (1992). She made her feature film debut in The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993).

Heche's first substantial role was in a segment of the 1996 made-for-cable anthology film If These Walls Could Talk, in which she played a college student contemplating an abortion. That same year she appeared in the independent film Walking and Talking. She was praised for her performance by critic Alison Macor of Austin Chronicle who said in her review that " acting suggests that she is destined for larger film roles". For her performance as Johnny Depp's wife in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco, critics such as Janet Maslin of New York Times wrote that Heche "does well with what could have been the thankless role". Heche had supporting roles in three other films released that year, appearing in Volcano, Wag the Dog, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

In 1998, Heche got her first high-profile role in the romantic adventure Six Days Seven Nights, where she starred opposite Harrison Ford. She then co-starred with Vince Vaughn in the critically acclaimed drama Return to Paradise. However, Heche was unable to get another leading role in a major film afterwards. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Heche stated that her agents told her she lost opportunities due to her same-sex relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. Just as she had begun to establish herself in films, Heche's career took a significant downturn. Her next screen appearances were supporting roles in little-exposed independent films and television guest spots.

In 2001, Heche appeared in 7 episodes of Ally McBeal, and starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Proof on Broadway. In 2004, Heche received an Emmy nomination for her performance in the Lifetime movie Gracie's Choice (2004). She appeared in the well-received independent film Birth, which starred Nicole Kidman, and had a recurring role on the WB drama Everwood during its 2004–2005 season. Heche nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway stage production Twentieth Century. She then took on a recurring role on Nip/Tuck in 2005 as an ex-mob wife and Witness Protection Program subject who requires plastic surgery.

In 2006, Heche began work on her own primetime show, ABC’s dramedy Men in Trees. In the show, Heche starred as a New York author who, after finding out her fiancé is cheating on her, moves to a small town in Alaska, which happens to be abundant with single men and few women. Men in Trees was canceled in May 2008, after a season shortened by the writer’s strike. She then appeared in Spread, a sex comedy co-starring Ashton Kutcher released in 2009, which came out in a limited release and with negative reviews, however, Matthew Turney of View London wrote "There's also terrific support" from Heche.

In 2009, Heche was cast in the HBO series Hung, a dark comedy that centers on a well-endowed but struggling high school basketball/baseball coach. Thomas Jane plays the lead character, Ray. Heche plays Ray's ex-wife, who is remarried. The actress replaces Kristin Bauer, who played the role in the pilot. The series was canceled in 2011.

In 2011, Heche appeared in the independent romantic comedy film Cedar Rapids, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is about a naive middle-aged man (played by The Hangover actor Ed Helms) who ventures out of his sheltered existence for the first time when he’s forced to attend an insurance conference. Since its release Cedar Rapids has received many good reviews in which Heche's performance was well received; David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated that "while Heche shines brightest in more brittle mode, as in HBO's Hung, she strikes a sweet balance between Joan's mischievous and maternal sides".