as part of the Mark Taper Forum-sponsored "Sundays at the Itchey Foot" series. In early 1993, Heche made her theatrical film debut in the little-seen independent film An Ambush of Ghosts, directed by Everett Lewis. Soon afterward, she appeared in the Disney film The Adventures of Huck Finn with Elijah Wood. Over the next two years, she performed mainly in bit parts in feature films such as A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) and larger supporting roles in cable television movies such as Girls in Prison (1994) and Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (1995). She appeared in her first lead role (though without receiving top billing) in Donald Cammell's erotic thriller Wild Side (1995), alongside Christopher Walken and Joan Chen. The film gained some notoriety for its inclusion of a very strong lesbian sex scene between Heche and Chen. In 1996, Heche had the starring role as a college student contemplating an abortion in a segment of the made-for-HBO anthology film If These Walls Could Talk, co-starring Cher and Demi Moore. Also that year, she appeared opposite Catherine Keener portraying childhood best friends in the independent film Walking and Talking. The limited-release film garnered favorable reviews from critics and is number 47 on Entertainment Weeklys "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time" list. Heche gained positive notice from film critic Alison Macor of Austin Chronicle, who wrote in her review that she "is destined for larger film roles". 1997–1999: Career breakthrough In 1997, Heche starred in what has been described as her breakthrough role in the crime drama Donnie Brasco as the wife of the main character, an FBI undercover agent played by Johnny Depp. The film was a critical and box-office success, and Heche's supporting role was widely-praised. Critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Heche "does well with what could have been the thankless role". By the late 1990s Heche continued to find recognition and commercial success as she took on supporting roles in three other 1997 high-profile film releases—Volcano, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Wag the Dog. The disaster film Volcano, about the formation of a volcano in Los Angeles, had her star with Tommy Lee Jones and Gaby Hoffmann, playing a seismologist. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it grossed US$122 million at the international box office. She portrayed the minor role of a backwoods loner in