The Softer Side of Anne DeSalvo

Poor Anne DeSalvo. She seems like such a nice person, but you wouldn’t know it from her films.

She has an impressive list of credits and has received great notices for her crack comedic performances in such movies as “Arthur,” “Stardust Memories” and “My Favorite Year.” But she’s always playing villains, tough cookies, sarcastic hookers.

“I’m usually the shrew,” sighs DeSalvo. “I’m usually very much in control.”

That is, until now. DeSalvo finally has the opportunity to show some sympathy in the new Touchstone comedy “Taking Care of

Business.” She plays Debbie, the good-hearted, vulnerable friend of a businessman (Charles Grodin) who comes to his rescue after he loses his Filofax filled with cash, credit cards and house keys. Though he is happily married, Debbie thinks he loves her.

“You get to see me wounded,” says DeSalvo. “You get to see me pierced. People have been referring to my performance as ‘adorable.’ I have never been called adorable in my profession.”

Born in Philadelphia, DeSalvo has spent most of her career living in New York. Two years ago, she moved to Los Angeles. “I was ready to do television,” she explains. “Five years ago, if you became a TV star, that’s all you became. Now it does enhance your career.” In November, she’s scheduled to start work on the ABC comedy series “Honor Bound.”

DeSalvo doesn’t miss the Big Apple. “I think New York is a time in your life, instead of a place in your life,” she says. “I really like living here. You don’t have to work so hard at everyday life.”

Occasionally, she receives a letter from the ultimate New Yorker, Woody Allen, with whom she worked in “Stardust Memories.”

“That guy is, like, the best,” DeSalvo says. “When I met him we laughed for 20 minutes. I wrote him recently about ‘New York Stories.’ I didn’t expect to hear from him and he writes me back within five days. That says a lot about somebody.”