FACING zombies or chasing a child killer were in the line of duty
for actress Mireille Enos.
Even starring with heart-throb Brad Pitt left her unfazed.
But when Mireille came to Glasgow last month to film World War Z,
she met her match - haggis.
Even though co-star Brad's nine-year-old son Maddox tried
Scotland's national dish, the red-haired actress - who claims some
Scots ancestry - refused to try even a mouthful.
Brad and partner Angelina Jolie had haggis served in their Ayrshire
bolthole during their time in Scotland while the actor filmed the
zombie thriller.
But the same couldn't be said for Mireille.
She said: "I avoided the haggis.
"I'm a wimp.
"I was scared."
The 35-year-old mum-of-one is married to comedy actor Alan Ruck -
star of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Spin City.
He and their daughter Vesper, who'll be one on Friday, joined her
in Glasgow.
She admitted: "My husband was on a campaign for me to try some
haggis but I put my foot down.
"It was wonderful to have them with me.
"It made it a family event."
Mireille spent more than a week in Scotland last month starring in
the $125million movie.
She plays Karin, the wife of UN employee Gerry Lane, played by Brad
Pitt, and the mum of their two kids.
In August, Glasgow's George Square was transformed into
Philadelphia with American street signs and cars.
About 2000 local extras were auditioned to play members of the
public and zombies.
The film also went to Grangemouth's A905 Wholeflats Road, near the
oil refinery, for another scene.
Everywhere the production went, the crowds followed, especially
women, who were desperate for a sighting of Brad.
Mireille said: "Yes, he is very popular with the ladies.
"We were shooting on the streets of Glasgow and all the offices and
windows were just plastered with ladies hoping to get a
glimpse.
"The reception was so warm."
So for all those women who managed to get a wave or just ogled his
picture in the Record, what was Brad like?
She said: "He is one of the most generous and lovely people I've
ever worked with."
But unlike the Scottish onlookers, Mireille's female friends were
not jealous she got to spend so much time up close with Brad.
She said: "My friends are just happy for me.
"It's my first big film.
"They aren't jealous.
"It's sweet."
The American actress, on her first trip to Scotland, gently ribbed
our weather.
The film was held up for a day due to sunshine as the scenes were
meant to have grey skies - one of the reasons Scotland was chosen
as a location.
She said: "No-one expected that to happen.
"Is there a dry season?
"I had such a wonderful time in Glasgow.
"I was mostly working but I would love to come back and have time
to look around.
"People have talked about the weather being bad but no-one talked
about how beautiful the architecture is.
"We were really charmed by it."
Now she plans a holiday in Scotland to see "the incredible
countryside" and is hoping there might be a World War Z II.
She said: "I'm not a fan of zombies but I do love an action
movie.
"I've always wanted to do a big action film so it's been really
fun.
"Playing a mom of two adorable girls has been a wonderful way to
spend the summer."
On Sunday, Mireille missed out on an Emmy for the US version of The
Killing, screened on Channel 4.
The lead actress in a drama award instead went to Julianna
Margulies for The Good Wife.
Mireille had previously been nominated for a Tony Award for her
Broadway performance as Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf.
In the UK, the actress was best known for the polygamy series Big
Love, in which she played twins alongside Bill Paxton and Chloe
Sevigny.
But The Killing changed all that.
Based on the hit Danish television series, the slow-burning show
has been a cult smash on both sides of the Atlantic.
She plays Sarah Linden, a Seattle homicide detective who is
investigating the murder of teenager Rosie Larsen.
As well as the hunt for the killer, a secondary storyline sees
Sarah battle with whether she will retire early to follow boyfriend
Rick (Callum Keith Rennie) to California.
The storyline as Sarah and rookie detective Stephen Holder (Joel
Kinnaman) try to unravel what happened to Rosie was all the more
harrowing for Mireille, who was pregnant when they shot the
pilot.
She had auditioned for the role and hadn't heard anything so when
they came to say she had the job she had to tell them she was
expecting.
But they still wanted her and she was five months gone when they
shot the pilot.
Her daughter was just three months old when they filmed the rest in
Canada.
There will be a second series of The Killing starting in November,
when Rosie's case will be solved and a new case begun.
To fans, her character Sarah is well known for her range of
fishermen's jumpers.
She said: "The truth is I quite like to dress in jeans and a woolly
jumper.
"I'm very comfortable in Sarah's clothes."
Mireille suddenly finds herself in demand.
After finishing work on World War Z she will go straight into
another film, Gangster Squad, which stars Sean Penn and Ryan
Gosling.
At 35, fame has come relatively late but Mireille is happy with the
way it's panned out.
She said: "I've had to have a kind of patience, even though I have
been doing work that has been really satisfying and ultimately
really great.
"But now I feel like I'm here and this show is a great platform for
film and other TV work.
"But I am grounded - I have a husband and a baby."
The Killing is out on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday from 20th Century
Fox Home Entertainment.