The actress, 51, whose films include Roman Polanski's Tess and Paris Texas by Wim Wenders, said she had read Pola's words and wept.

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Since first coming to attention in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the actress has become one of the UK's most in-demand young actresses.

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Hardy's novels include Jude the Obscure and Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

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Stars such as Davina McCall, Alan Shearer, James Cracknell, Tess Daly and Mark Ramprakash are all lending their support to this year's campaign.

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Polanski has been nominated for Oscars for directing "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), "Chinatown" (1974) and "Tess" (1980), an adaptation of "Tess of the d'Urbervilles, " the Thomas Hardy novel about a young peasant woman whose life collapses after a wealthy older man seduces her.

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