I WISH I WASN'T CURSED: SECRET HELL OF FILM STARLET EMILY LLOYD

Sunday Mirror ,  Sep 11, 2005   by SUZANNE KERINS

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"I hadn't seen him but I thought the name Brad sounded so naff and my sister wanted me to take her home as well, so I didn't bother.

"But I was kicking myself the next day when I was shown a picture of him!"

Emily - whose only public long-term relationship was with Danny Huston, son of the legendary film director John - eventually met Pitt in 1992. They filmed hit movie A River Runs Through It together, alongside veteran Robert Redford.

But by then Emily's illness had kicked in - and a psychiatrist was brought on set to look after her.

She says: "Robert was directing the film. He could see and understand what I was going through. No matter how busy he was, he always took me aside and was full of praise and encouragement."

BUT the demons inside the starlet had taken hold. Her next film was Husbands And Wives with Woody Allen.

It was reported at the time that she had been axed for not mastering an American accent. But Emily says the truth was she suffered a nervous breakdown.

She says: "You don't see much of Woody when he directs a film. Most of the time, he's holed up in a portakabin.

"He instructs you via the Tannoy system, which I found bizarre. I was so ill at the time and that made it worse for me. I didn't think I could do the film. I was really, really ill. I couldn't concentrate and was seeing things. Woody was very understanding and let me leave the film immediately. But he did call me up quite a bit afterwards to see how I was. And he said he would like to work with me again."

By the late 1990s it seemed as if she was on the road to recovery - until an ill-fated trip to the Indian sub-continent eight years ago.

En route to meet the Dalai Lama, she was bitten by one of his temple dogs. Combined with the effects of the anti-malarial drug Larium, the incident pushed her over the edge. She says: "I have had my dark moments. There were times I would never come out the other end. It was very scary."

For now, she is determined to get well. She has landed a role as the face of Serendipity London Clothing range, and later this month she celebrates her 35th birthday.

When asked whether she would like to get married and start a family, she shudders: "Oh no. I'm not into marriage and I don't think I want to have children. I'm just concentrating on getting better."

Respected actress Emily says she still receives film offers - and she still harbours dreams. "If I was better, I think I'd like to play more small but quirkier roles.

"But I don't feel like I've missed out. I would rather be remembered as a wild child than a wallflower."