KaDee Strickland

Katherine Dee "KaDee" Strickland (born December 14, 1977)Altamura, Mike. "Enchanting Southerner with Passion to Burn". EZ Entertainment. October 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2005. is an American actress. Well-known in her hometown of Patterson, Georgia when she was a child, she began acting during high school. Strickland studied the profession in Philadelphia and New York City, where she obtained mostly small roles in film, television and theater projects, among them The Sixth Sense (1999). Her participation in the 2003 Hollywood films Anything Else and Something's Gotta Give led to her receiving significant parts in the horror pictures and The Grudge (both 2004). In the period they were released, Strickland was referred to as "the pride of Patterson" Holly Hunter, Ione Skye (her Fever Pitch co-star) and Jane Fonda as her inspirations and/or influences; for The Grudge, she mimicked Fonda's performance in Klute (1971) and her "brilliant way in that film of creating tension and fear for the audience just by walking down a hallway and looking over her shoulder." She noted the input of her acting coach, Maggie Flanagan, who instructed Strickland to watch films with the sound turned off to gauge the quality and comprehensibility of a performance, and who Strickland credits as her "Jedi Knight".Epstein, Daniel Robert. "KaDee Strickland, Anacondas Interview". UnderGroundOnline. August 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2005.Spelling, Ian. "The cast of Anacondas have no illusions about winning Academy Awards as they go snake hunting". Science Fiction Weekly. August 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
Strickland cites her work ethic and her "active imagination" as sources of inspiration when she is required to convey certain emotions, particularly negative ones. She said she does not practise method acting, but that actors can bring to a role elements that are, in her words, "an extension of their life experience". According to her, she hopes to have her experience of growing up in an emotionally warm environment incorporated into her work. Strickland has spoken of her difficulty conveying different "versions" of emotions such as fear to different members of a worldwide film-watching audience, saying "what really kept me going was trying to communicate something universal." She said she is extremely flattered when people, particularly her fans, genuinely relate to her when her "version of storytelling" and work as an actress communicates to them. She said she believed she was "here" to act, and that she could not live without it: "It's my joy, it's what I love, and there's no feeling like being able to do what you love in life, and really fully doing it", she said. Strickland called her life as an actress "a crazy existence" and "completely unstable" because of the frequency with which she has to look for new jobs, but she said she is " with it" and continue to act until her death.
Strickland is a self-described "big " and "very concerned with looks", and she has noted the need for "an element of vanity" in acting, particularly in Los Angeles, where she says she is "continually surrounded by super-human people ... I've never seen so much beauty." According to her, she has never had to rely on her appearance or felt pressurised to be beautiful—"The truth is I'm not that girl", she said. With regard to sources such as magazines, Strickland said she is "very careful" about the way she wants to be presented as a woman, saying she strives to avoid "sensationalizing or sexualizing" herself. As she put it, she is not accustomed to being considered a "pretty girl" or "attractive by a standard that I've never felt that I was part of". Strickland has a very audible Southern American accent, which she says is an advantage for her because it is "the one thing" that film and casting directors like the sound of and "really gravitate toward", particularly in Los Angeles, which she called "a town full of blondes". According to her, she learned to speak without the accent at university, and because she doesn't want people to think she has no other skills, she uses it only when it is required or requested. Strickland is experienced in stage combat and said she "likes to do physical stuff"; in an interview to discuss Anacondas, she said "if there was a Braveheart for women, I'd be all over it."Roman, Julian. "An Interview with KaDee Strickland". Latino Review. August 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2005.

Personal life

Strickland met Jason Behr, her co-star in The Grudge, on the set of the film in 2004.Barnes, Bronwyn. "Kadee Strickland & Jason Behr". Wedding InStyle. Spring 2007. According to her, they had a shared affinity for Japan and Japanese culture and became best friends almost instantly because of their mutual willingness to explore it.Webb Mitovich, Matt. "Does Legal Eagle David E. Kelley Throw a Wild Wedding?". TV Guide. March 7, 2007. The two began a relationship soon after filming ended. When asked about her love life in February 2005, Strickland said it was "quiet". On November 10, 2006, she married Behr in Ojai, California in a ceremony that included elements of Japanese culture.Nudd, Tim. "Grudge Stars Behr, Strickland Marry". People. November 20, 2006. Strickland said her experience planning the wedding aided her preparation for her role in The Wedding Bells. Her work on the wedding provided the inspiration for the wedding garden of Casa de Estrellas (Home of the Stars), a Santa Fe, New Mexico luxury inn and spa.
Strickland is an advocate of the arts. In 2004, before the release of Anacondas, she hosted the art debut of fellow actress Heidi Jayne Netzley at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, California.
Strickland was among the actors who picketed alongside writers during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.