COPENHAGEN , Denamrk ( CNN ) -- What makes someone decide to become an actor ? It sometimes seems as if the average Hollywood star is motivated mainly by the promise of a fat pay check . Connie Nielsen shot to fame playing Lucilla in `` Gladiator . '' Or perhaps they 're drawn to the celebrity lifestyle . Maybe they crave the love of an adoring public , or perhaps they see the movies as a way to leave their mark on the world , to be immortalized on celluloid . For Danish actress Connie Nielsen it was something quite different . For her , being an actor means being an outsider . `` As an artist you actually do have to make a choice to be an outsider . If you 're an outsider you have the freedom to say what people on the inside do n't dare to say , '' she told CNN . So Connie Nielsen is not your typical movie star . As a 5-foot-10-inch blonde Scandinavian beauty she has the looks of a classic silver screen siren , but she has steadfastly resisted a career as Hollywood eye candy and rejected the lifestyle that goes with it . `` I absolutely refuse the fame part of my business , '' she says . `` I refuse even the money side of my business . I try to do as good work as I can do , I try to grow in my art and reach for truth , '' she says . Raised in Elling , a small coastal village in Denmark , she is fluent in seven languages and studied acting in France and Italy , making her screen debut in French comedy `` Par Où T'es Rentré ? On T ' a Pas Vu Sortir '' ( U.S. title `` How Did You Get In ? We Did n't See You Leave '' ) in 1984 . She appeared in more French and Italian movies before landing a role opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in `` The Devil 's Advocate '' in 1997 . But it was n't until 2000 , when she was cast in Ridley Scott 's Oscar-winning `` Gladiator '' , that Nielsen landed a role that really let her show her acting ability . As Lucilla , the sister of the villainous Emperor Commodus , Nielsen brought some much-needed subtlety to the swords-and-sandals epic and held her own sharing the screen with Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe . The movie made Nielsen an international star and she scored other successes with `` One Hour Photo '' in 2002 , and `` The Hunted '' in 2003 . But while the success of `` Gladiator '' opened doors for her , it also meant she had to fight the kind of typecasting that would try to limit her to playing `` the love interest '' to a male lead who got all the good lines . Nielsen has in the past been critical of Hollywood for its lack of female roles , saying `` you think once you 've shown what you can do , and your movies have been successful , that snap , you work . So to discover the difference between guys ' roles and girls ' roles made me plain mad . It 's unjust . '' But Nielsen has refused to be pigeonholed , seemingly drawn to difficult roles in controversial movies . She appeared in French movie `` Demonlover '' , which dealt with pornography , violence and corporate amorality , while more recent films have taken on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . Danish drama `` Brødre '' ( U.S. title `` Brothers '' ) is about a soldier who returns from Afghanistan a broken man , unable to communicate his experiences from the conflict . Playing his wife , Nielsen put in a powerful performance that won her awards and served to highlight how Hollywood had underused her talents . `` The Situation '' in 2006 was billed as the first film to be made about the Iraq war and told the story of ordinary Iraqis caught up in the conflict , while `` Battle of Seattle '' examined how peaceful protests erupted into riots when the World Trade Organization met in Seattle in 1999 . Of her choice of subject matter , Nielsen says that rather than making a political point she is trying to show the human aspects of the conflicts . But Nielsen makes it clear that her career is not the focus of her life and she stresses the importance of making time outside the movies . She is passionate about literature and art and she is currently dating Lars Ulrich , drummer of rock group Metallica . She had a son with him in 2007 and has another son from a previous relationship . `` I will always find something that I want to try and become better at . I always love to spend more time with my friends , more time with my family , my extended family . I always want to read more books , '' she says . Perhaps her commitment to her art , her interest in social issues and her disavowal of fame simply reflect her Danish upbringing , but there 's no doubt that compared to many other Hollywood stars Connie Nielsen is a breath of fresh air .
Connie Nielsen made her name playing Lucilla in Ridley Scott 's `` Gladiator '' She has appeared in movies dealing with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . The actress is currently filming a new series for Amazon called " The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'which will be based on the popular TV show of that name.