Hanging by Her Heels at 4 in the Morning? All in a Day’s Work

In the thriller “Bats,” which opened Friday, filmmakers use computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other special effects to create swarms of huge genetically altered bats that swoop down at night and terrorize a quiet Texas town. People are being killed in the streets. The sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) needs a bat expert, and fast.

Actress Dina Meyer, who has been sharing almost as much screen time lately with make-believe creatures as with humans, plays a zoologist who comes to the rescue. In “Starship Troopers” (1997), Meyer, 30, was a gung-ho soldier fighting a war against giant killer bugs. In “Dragonheart” (1996), she was an ax-wielding peasant who has several scenes with a talking dragon (voiced by Sean Connery). Audiences see the former model battling bugs and bats on the screen, but since these effects are added later, on the set she’s often acting with nothing.

Meyer, who played Keanu Reeves’ samurai bodyguard in “Johnny Mnemonic,” talked by phone from Vancouver, B.C., where she is shooting “Secret Agent Man,” an upcoming TV series. She had worked 17 hours the day before, until 4 a.m--all in a day’s work for an actress in action flicks.

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Question: 4 a.m.?

Answer: Yeah. They had me hoisted up by my feet 20 feet above the ground. I was suspended upside-down, with no mat. In the scene, a droid is shooting this laser gun at us, but I have a compact mirror. He shoots the laser, hits the mirror and blows himself up.

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Q: A secret agent can always use a compact.

A: Absolutely. I always have whatever gadget I need, even though I have no pockets.

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Q: So in your movies, we have giant killer bugs, a talking dragon and now killer bats. How do you react to something that isn’t there?

A: I think I’ve mastered the technique. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I think if you do three movies, you kind of figure out a way to react in what I hope is a very human, realistic way to the nothingness. Sometimes you don’t know exactly what the thing is going to look like. They’ll show you tests, show you little pictures, and you hope it’s going to look good.

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Q: So in “Dragonheart,” how do you muster a facial expression that says you’re about to be carried away by a flying dragon?

A: Just ultimate horror. Let’s see, how would I feel if I had this enormous dragon flying toward me and it’s gonna eat me!

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Q: Are you usually happy with how your reactions match up with the CGI?

A: Usually. But you don’t do it alone, whether it’s the director or the special-effects guy, telling you exactly what’s going to be happening. It’s up to you as an actor to trust them.

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Q: Getting these roles--is it coincidence or do you seek them out?

A: I don’t seek them out. There are very few good female roles out there, let alone good films for people over 18 to act in. Since I’m not quite going up against the likes of Ashley Judd or Cameron Diaz or Julia Roberts, pickings are even slimmer. I want to keep working, especially if it’s showing that an attractive woman can be strong and independent and kick some ass every now and again.

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Q: What about typecasting?

A: I am trying to avoid being typecast as a female [Sylvester] Stallone [she plays his love interest in “The Outpost” in February] or become a Jean-Claude Van Dina. I’m an actress who is physically capable of just about anything [she credits 15 years of dance lessons when she was younger], but I’m open to other roles. In “Poodle Springs” [a 1998 HBO movie with James Caan], I play a 1963 lawyer, and I was always in skirts and dresses.

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Q: So we still might see you sipping tea someday in a Merchant Ivory film?

A: Wouldn’t that be great? I think my face would fit in one of their movies. Some people tell me I don’t have a very contemporary look.

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Q: During acting lessons in New York City, did you ever imagine someday you’d be wrestling with a bat in a movie?

A: Not really. For me it was always just wanting to be onstage, to entertain. My goal is to sing and dance on Broadway. I think it might be a shock to some people because they see this rough-and-tough, physically adept actress shooting big bugs with big guns and being a bodyguard, and now she’s playing Little Orphan Annie. At family gatherings I remember singing and dancing with my cousin, Heather, and doing skits and talent shows in camp. That’s what I’ve always loved.