BEST ACTRESS: LAURA LINNEY
The Savages
Age 43 Role Self-sabotaging woman-child Wendy Savage. Game On ''When I got the script, I felt like a chess player looking at the board,'' recalls Linney. ''My mind started to go, lifting the [scenes] up off the page. I made charts and graphs to make sure I didn't miss anything.'' Brain Food ''I love how Wendy is manic, self-obsessed, and lies like an 11-year-old, and yet is tremendously empathetic,'' says Linney. ''There's something funny about how smart people can behave. They don't have the tools to do the most basic things for themselves.'' Up Next She plays Abigail Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams in March, then stars in director James Ivory's indie drama City of Your Final Destination. —Christine Spines