In the fall of 2004, Edward Norton telephoned Naomi Watts—once again—about playing Kitty Fane in The Painted Veil. This time, he was determined to enlist the actress—for five years, Norton, screenwriter Ron Nyswaner and producer Sara Colleton had been developing an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel, and they were hoping to finally get it produced. Unfortunately, Watts, a 2004 Best Actress Oscar nominee who had also recently completed roles in The Ring Two and Marc Forster’s Stay, had just finished a grueling eight-month shoot in Australia for King Kong and wasn’t eager to begin another film.

"I was tired, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to work again for at least that part of the year," she admits. But after speaking at length with the persuasive Norton, "Suddenly my promise to myself about not working went out the window," she laughs. "I always knew this book would make a great film."