SPOTLIGHT ON 'RWANDA'S' BREAKOUT PERFORMER OKONEDO'S ROLE STRENGTHENED BY MEETING REAL-LIFE CHARACTER SHE PORTRAYED.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

It's the little things that often make a performance. The sweeteners, if you will, that bring out the sweetness.

For her Oscar-nominated work in ``Hotel Rwanda,'' Sophie Okonedo received a key piece of character-building advice from Tatiana Rusesabagina, the wife of real-life Rwandan hotel manager - and refugee shelterer - Paul Rusesabagina. Since Okonedo would be playing Tatiana, it made sense for her to listen.

The two women met in Brussels, Belgium, where the Rusesabaginas have lived since fleeing Africa after the Rwandan genocide in 1994 - the year in which Terry George's film is set. The two women didn't have a language in common, ``but somehow we muddled through.''

And it was during an early conversation that Okonedo picked up a character essential.

``She offered me tea and asked me if I would like sugar in it,'' recalls Okonedo of the early meeting. ``I said, 'I don't like sugar in my tea.' She said, 'To play Tatiana, you have to have sugar in your tea.'''

Admittedly, there's not a lot of time for domesticity of any kind in George's acclaimed film. Tatiana and Paul (played by Don Cheadle) are too busy shoring up provisions, hiding from soldiers, searching for missing relatives and doing everything possible to either save their own lives - and the lives of their children - or provide a quick and painless suicide if survival proves impossible.

The Rusesabaginas cheat death on several occasions in the course of the film. That's dramatic license, says Okonedo. In reality, she says, their peril was probably even greater.

``I didn't really ask Tatiana about the genocide at all,'' says Okonedo. ``I wasn't trying to imitate the real-life Tatiana. Really I was just trying to, I suppose, explore her within the story I had, the facts I had.''

Sugar or no sugar, Okonedo's work was enough to impress the academy voters to nominate the 35-year-old London-born actress (who received SAG and Image Award nominations as well) for Best Supporting Actress. She also got a thumbs-up from the very woman whose life she enacted.

``Tatiana watched the film with me,'' says Okonedo. ``It was so emotional, and at the end she hugged me and held me and said, 'You are a beautiful Tatiana.'''

Paul Rusesabagina was the manager at the upscale Mille Collines Hotel in 1994 during the 100 days when Hutu extremists slaughtered both Tutsi neighbors and moderate Hutus. Nearly 1 million people were killed during those 100 days. By sheltering refugees of both factions at the Mille Collines, Rusesabagina is credited with saving the lives of more than 1,200 people.

Okonedo, who lives in London, says she had fleeting knowledge of the Rwandan genocide - she was 25 at the time - before she got the role.

``I remember seeing the mass exodus of the Tutsi and knowing there was a genocide. But I really didn't have much of an understanding of what was going on until I started reading the script. That's the way I tend to do things. I do a lot of research and digging around before I start filming. Then, once I start, I tend to stop and play the moment.''

The producers of ``Hotel Rwanda'' singled out Okonedo after seeing her work in Stephen Frears' ``Dirty Pretty Things.'' How they made the creative leap from a London prostitute in the midst of a black-market vital-organs scam to earnest Rwandan refugee mom is anybody's guess, but Okonedo is glad they did.

``I meant to ask (producer) Alex Ho that question,'' says Okonedo. ``I don't think he was seeing 'Dirty Pretty Things' specifically for me. I think he just wanted someone who could act.''

And act, Okonedo certainly can, although cineastes and TV watchers on this side of the Atlantic may not be able to bring her to mind easily. In addition to British television, Okonedo has appeared in the films ``This Year's Love,'' ``The Jackal,'' ``Go Now'' and ``Young Soul Rebels.''

She was nominated for a British Independent Film award for ``Dirty Pretty Things,'' and with this being the season of awards, Okonedo has learned for the first time that she also garnered an MTV Movie Award nomination for best on-screen kiss with Jim Carrey in the ``Ace Ventura'' sequel ``Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' (1995). There's not much she can say about the role, since, according to Okonedo, ``I only had two lines.''

The ``Rwanda'' role, on the other hand, may prove to be a career turning point. ``I'll be happy if the nomination makes a difference to my career. I'm not quite sure yet (whether it has),'' says Okonedo, whose next film will be the secret-agent thriller ``Aeon Flux'' with Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand. ``Quite a lot has been happening (since 'Hotel Rwanda').''

Okonedo has spent much of her stay in Los Angeles with a friend from her days at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Between the interviews and photographs, the outfits and events, Okonedo and her friend have slipped in manicures, pedicures and general glamour. The routine is a change of pace for a woman who says she has worn jeans, T-shirts and sneakers for the last 10 to 15 years.

``Suddenly, dresses will come, and that's great. They'll all look very nice. There are certainly people around here who are helping me make decisions. Before, I couldn't understand the benefit of having your hair done and makeup on all the time. I certainly see the benefit of all that now.''

Originally envisioning a future in writing, Okonedo answered an ad for a young writers group on the back of Time Out magazine. Performance eventually intrigued her more, and she earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy.

During her years at the Royal Shakespeare Company, she was a frequent ``spear carrier'' - meaning a background filler - in productions with another up-and-coming future Oscar nominee, Emily Watson. Okonedo left the RSC without having performed a single Shakespeare play, but ended up getting her big dramatic break in a Shakespearean role: Cressida in a Royal National Theatre production of ``Troilus and Cressida,'' directed by Trevor Nunn.

These days, she does most of her stage work at the Royal Court, artistic home of - among others - playwright Caryl Churchill.

``I've had my pick (of stage projects) for quite a few years now. I'm a fan of new writing, so I have a feeling the things I'd really like to do may not have been written yet.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Tatiana Rusebagina (Sophie Okonedo) races through a refugee camp with medic Ashleigh Tobias, left, in ``Hotel Rwanda.''

(2) - Sophie Okonedo