Famke Janssen in a scene from Chris Eigeman's Turn the River. (Credit: Rick Gilbert/ 2008 Screen Media)

When you make the jump to movies from modeling and your first major role is as a Bond girl named Xenia Onatopp, Hollywood has certain expectations for you.

Famke Janssen is doing her best to defy them.

Sure, the Dutch actress has had plenty of high-profile roles in big-budget features. Besides "Goldeneye," there are "Rounders," "The Faculty" and, most notably, the blockbuster "X-Men" series, in which she played telepathic mutant Jean Grey.

But in between, she's sandwiched meaty roles in tiny independent films such as "City of Industry" and "Turn the River." In "River," which is playing tonight as part of the Indianapolis International Film Festival, Janssen plays a tough pool hustler looking for a big score. Janssen and writer/director Chris Eigeman will attend the screening.

"Sometimes I walk down the street and people go, 'When are you ever going to get another movie coming out?' And I say all I've been doing is working my butt off for the last couple of years. But they've been smaller independent films and people don't know," she said.

"As far as some people are concerned, I work sporadically only in very big-budget movies."

To play a desperate gambler in "River," the tall, raven-haired beauty went out of her way to deglamorize her appearance. They found a cheap hairpiece for her to wear -- the color doesn't even quite match Janssen's own longer tresses. She wears the same grungy outfit throughout the film.

"We did the no-makeup look, which on film is really rough, because even men wear makeup on film. So we just tried to make me look as bad as possible," she said with a chuckle. "I think we succeeded."

Janssen, 42, admits her looks haven't always been an asset in pursuing edgier roles. "It's always been a two-edged sword when it comes to people's looks. I think that doors open because of it, and then I think people don't take you as seriously maybe because of it."

Her most famous role as an X-man appears to be over. Although a "Wolverine" spin-off is being filmed, the chances of continuing the Phoenix storyline alluded to in "X-Men: The Last Stand" appear dim. In one of the most revered story arcs in comic book history, Jean Grey is transformed into the world-devouring entity known as the Phoenix.

"I thought that was a pity, because I know how important the Phoenix Saga is to the fans, and I don't think it was addressed properly. It's such a great storyline."