People old enough to have seen Julie Christie in "Dr. Zhivago," or even to have owned a music box that played "Lara's Theme," may have a hard time wrapping their heads around the casting of 18-year-old Keira Knightley ("Bend It Like Beckham," "The Pirates of the Caribbean") as the Boris Pasternak heroine.

Even the actress' father.

She first saw "Dr. Zhivago" when she was 5, she said. "My dad fancied Julie Christie. When he heard I was up for the part, he thought it was the most ridiculous thing."

Appearing before reporters via satellite from London - co-star Sam Neill flew 24 hours from New Zealand to make it to Hollywood - she couldn't have looked less Lara-like in a skinny white tank top that exposed her bra straps. But even with her messed-up hair, when her image was blown up on a giant screen to the side of Neill, you could see what would have attracted producers. Like Christie, she has a hauntingly beautiful face and enormous eyes.

Not that she's bothered to compare.

"As soon as I got the role, I wouldn't watch the film just in case I did anything vaguely similar to Julie Christie," she said.