Gillian Anderson has revealed that turning down a role in the 1997 film adaptation of Henry James's *The Wings of the Dove* remains her biggest career regret, declining to say which character she was offered. The disclosure comes as she draws praise for her performance as the reclusive Billy in the new film *Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma*, a role critics say echoes the kind of complex, secretive femininity she might have brought to the earlier period drama.

The part Anderson passed up eventually went to Helena Bonham Carter, whose performance as Kate Croy earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The independent period drama, directed by Iain Softley, grossed around $17 million against a roughly $14 million budget and is now regarded by many film fans as an underappreciated gem. Anderson and Bonham Carter would later cross paths professionally on Netflix's *The Crown*, with Bonham Carter appearing in the first three seasons and Anderson joining in season four as Margaret Thatcher.