Kim Cattrall Took It All Off--Poundwise--for ‘Bonfire’ Role

“I knew I was going to get the part,” Kim Cattrall states matter-of-factly. “I felt it.”

Cattrall, known for her saucy, sexy roles in “Porky’s” and “Mannequin,” goes against type in “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” Warner Bros.’ version of Tom Wolfe’s best-seller.

In the film, which stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith, Cattrall plays Judy, the whippet-thin, middle-age socialite wife of successful New York bond trader Sherman McCoy (Hanks).

Cattrall had wanted to play Maria, Sherman’s ditzy mistress, but Griffith beat her to the role. “When I heard they were after Melanie,” she says, “I thought about Judy.”

As soon as she was cast, Cattrall decided to shed 15 pounds off her slender frame. “Brian De Palma, the director, kept mentioning Nancy Reagan to me (as a model) and she is definitely anorexic,” she says. “I wanted to get into the skin of Judy and I thought it would help me and be more right for the film. She is always referred to in the book as the ‘social X-ray’ and I felt if I looked too healthy, it wouldn’t work as well.”

Cattrall was under doctors’ supervision both here and in New York. “I wanted to do it safe,” she explains. “The first week, I only had liquid protein three times a day. The second week, I had liquid protein two times a day and one meal. It took me four weeks to lose the weight, and I had to maintain it for 4 1/2 months. I ate chicken, steamed vegetables, no desserts. Diet drinks were the only sweet thing I could have.”

The actress also met with New York socialite Nan Kempner. “I wanted to get in touch with what her life was like and sort of where she comes from,” says Cattrall. “I expected her to be very aloof, but she was extremely friendly.”

Cattrall hopes next to play the title role in Shaw’s “Saint Joan” at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. “I think it’s the women’s ‘Hamlet,’ ” she says. “I think it’s an incredible role.”