Toni's sex shocker
The passion and sexual abandon Toni Collette and her co-star Jonathan Rhys Meyers created on screen for the new glam rock flick Velvet Goldmine has spilled over into real life for the pair who have started ‘seriously’ dating. ‘They fell in love while they were making the film,’ says a friend of Toni. ‘It was obvious from the start that there would be more than just a professional arrangement between them – they just clicked. And Toni thinks he’s gorgeous.’ Both Toni and Jonathan were required to bare all as the bisexual couple Mandy and Brian Slade – roles which are based on the unusual relationship David Bowie had with his wife Angie – but they overcame their initial embarrassment very quickly. ‘They were nude for a lot of the film,’ says the friend. ‘There are sex scenes, full-frontal nudity, drug abuse and orgies, and Toni knew it would be one of her most challenging roles. ‘But it became a lot easier when the off-screen relationship between Toni and Jonathan began to grow.’ Considered a hot young star, 21-year-old Jonathan isn’t your classic Hollywood hunk. ‘He’s more in the mould of a British lead, rather slim and rock’n’roll looking but he’s got that star quality — he’s got just the kind of looks and brains Toni goes for.’ Toni, 26, is coy when asked about her relationship with Jonathan. ‘Technically we aren’t together,’ she tells one reporter. But adds: ‘He changed my life and I changed his.’ Jonathan, however, has been more forthcoming — telling a New York journalist how much he loves Toni. ‘We’ve been together for 11 months,’ he says, describing her as ‘the most amazing woman’. Toni, the star of Muriel’s Wedding, says her role in Velvet Goldmine was all consuming. ‘I loved so much about the project — the script and the people —that it wasn’t like working at all.’