BEST BET: Michelle Monaghan's new movie opening in Iowa on Oct. 9

By Diana Nollen

Winthrop native Michelle Monaghan can now add “truck driver” to her impressive resume.

After several years of pairing up with Hollywood bigwigs like Tom Cruise and Patrick Dempsey, she switched gears to make the big rig indie film, “Trucker.” It opens in limited release Friday, from New York to San Diego and including at the Starlight Cinema in Independence near Monaghan's hometown. The film keeps rolling through theaters nationwide the rest of October.

Monaghan, 33, has the lead role, a “female truck driver who loves the open road, loves being her own boss. She's also a mother who has not had a relationship with her son for 12 years. As the movie opens, he turns up at her doorstep.

 “She has to take her son in and develop a relationship with him and take responsibility. She is not prepared to do that,” Monaghan says by phone from New York City, where she now lives with husband Peter White, a graphic designer, and their daughter, Willow, born Nov. 5, 2008.

“It's their journey of discovery, of getting to know each other. She's a woman a lot of us have encountered in our lives. She's a single mom and has a tough time. I think a lot of women will identify with her.

 “It's a real drama - a really beautiful film.”

Monaghan grew up with one foot in town and one foot on the farm, but she hadn't driven a truck before signing on to the film, shot in Riverside, Calif., in 19 days in 2007.

She got her commercial driver's license so she could get behind the wheel for real and says driving a semi is “amazing.”

 “I miss driving it,” she adds. “It's an incredible challenge, scary, but a lot of fun. It was really important to get my CDL permit to help inform me about this character and this movie. Truck driving is a livelihood. I knew if I got my license and spent a lot of time with female truck drivers, it would benefit me and help bring forth the honesty of the role as it was written. ”

A self-described tomboy who likes to do her own stunts, she says, “I really enjoy that aspect. Any opportunity to run, jump, shoot a gun, kiss a guy - any action I can get. I also have to throw a baseball in the movie,” she says with a laugh. “That is something that's going to be painful for my family to see.”

While Monaghan has made numerous studio films - “Eagle Eye,” “Made of Honor,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “The Bourne Supremacy” - she also enjoys the different feel of shooting an independent film.

 “As an actor, you have a lot more creative control, you have more access to the cast and crew with independent films that you don't have with studio films. You work at a really fast pace - it's really exciting, like doing a high school film or a short film,” she says.

“The people who are making it are not in it for the glory or the money. They're in it because they believe in the story. It's a real labor of love for everyone involved. There's a real camaraderie and that's a great environment to be in as an actor.”

She says the film had “a wonderful reception” when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan in 2008. “We had some great reviews. We were very, very excited about that,” she says. “It was a long time running to get this film up and running - getting the money, getting it shot, getting it in the festival circuit. We worked for a year to get a great distributor.

 “It's tough out there for indie films. You have to celebrate each success it has.”

She's also happy the film is coming home for its theatrical release.

She says the Starlight in Independence is “a great little theater in a great little town. I hope people far and wide come to see it.”

“It's a wonderful film, a small little poignant film,” she says. “Anybody who gives it a chance won't be disappointed. I want to thank everybody for their support. I'm really proud to be from Eastern Iowa.”

She gets back to visit her folks, Bob and Sharon Monaghan, about every three months. Her parents still live in Winthrop, while her older brothers are nearby - John lives in Cedar Falls and Bob lives in Cedar Rapids.

“All my family lives back here,” she says, “my nieces and nephews. After the baby, we want to be back more, so Willow can spend time with her grandma and grandpa and time with her cousins.”

 Monaghan's in-laws live in Melbourne, Australia, which they try to visit at least once a year. “Twice if we're lucky,” she says.

Her yearlong hiatus from work is about to end. In another month, she'll start working on the comedy “Due Date,” the next project from Todd Phillips, director of the outrageous buddy flick, “The Hangover.”

“It's so funny,” Monaghan says of her upcoming film.

Her co-stars are Zach Galifianakis, also from “The Hangover,” and Robert Downey Jr., who plays her husband.

 “I'm nine months pregnant and these two leading men are in a mad rush to get home to me before the baby pops,” she says. “I've worked with Robert before. I'm really excited. I get to wear a pregnant suit, which I'm kind of excited about.”

Will that make her want to add another sprig to her family tree in real life?

“I'm already in the mood to have another one,” she exclaims.

FAST TAKE

What: “Trucker”

Starring: Winthrop native Michelle Monaghan, Jimmy Bennett, Benjamin Bratt, Nathan Fillion, Joey Lauren Adams

Where: Starlight Cinema, 2401 Swan Lake Blvd., Independence; (319) 332-0200

When: Friday through Oct. 15

Show times: 4:15, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday; 1:30, 4:15, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30, 4:15 and 7 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday; 4:15 and 7 p.m. Wednesday

Rated: R

Information: http://truckermovie.net