By LUAINE LEE

BEVERLY HILLS (April 28, 1999 12:47 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Actress Calista Flockhart thinks she's done a
lot of growing up since she snatched the part of the capricious, mini-skirted lawyer on Fox's "Ally McBeal" two years
ago.

She may be the star of the Monday night comedy-drama hit and the new film version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream,"
but Flockhart has paid for the privilege.

She has been the target of gleeful media attention about her waistline and persistent rumors about an eating disorder.

Sitting down at a linen-clad table in a hotel room here, she does look frail in a black V-neck sweater, black knee-length
suit jacket and black pin-striped slacks. But her face glows.

Dark brown eyes dominate her round face in spite of the over- sized mouth. Lashes, which grow wider at the edges,
fringe her eyes. And her often-tousled hair is shoulder length and haphazardly parted.

"That was so disappointing," she says referring to the gossip. "It was such a distraction from all the hard work and
good work that everyone was doing on the show. So I was hugely disappointed by that," she says, looking down at her
small hands.

"It wasn't fun, wasn't pleasant, never pleasant. At first I was shocked and took it personally. So it hurt me, and I was
afraid that it would potentially damage my career so I was very terrified," she admits.

"Then something happened, and I started to ignore it completely and maintain my sense of humor; if you read those
tabloids some of them are so funny."

One of the articles reported that Flockhart's terrier-mutt, Webster, suffers from anorexia.

She can laugh about it now, but then it was not so amusing.

"I was so new to it. I was completely a neophyte to Hollywood and the whole thing. ... How could anyone be prepared
for that kind of scrutiny?"

Then something changed, she says, though she's not sure what. "It was a feeling that overtook me and I put it in
perspective and probably grew up a little bit and got stronger and realized how irrelevant it all is," she says.

"There was a time when I was a bit skeptical and bit vigilant and very careful about what I would say because I didn't
know how people would twist it. Then you go to the flip side and you just say, 'Whatever' because they're going to write
whatever they want anyway. So I'm just going to be who I am and not care," she shrugs her Audrey Hepburn
shoulders.

"I went through a whole myriad of emotions and feelings."

Of course, that's what Flockhart is good at. David Kelley, creator of "Ally McBeal," says when Flockhart finally agreed to
audition for the show, he knew she was the one.

"I wanted someone who could be strong and weak at the exact same time," he says.

"She flew to California. She came in. She read. Producers were swarming all over her. All of a sudden someone grabs
her, 'We liked you.' You pull her up to the network. She reads for the network. She spins out of the Fox building and
before she even can come to a complete stop, someone tells her she has the role," he recalls.

"And during that whole swirl, there was this person who knew exactly what she was doing, was strong, had a point of
view, and yet was vulnerable at the same time."

Flockhart had heard about the role of the quirky Ally from a friend. But she was doing a play and was not interested.

"Finally I read the script and I really, really liked it," she says. "So I said, 'Yes.' I did a matinee and caught a 5 o'clock
flight. Came out. And then that happened."

As the love-besotted Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Flockhart, 34, validates her acting pedigree, having
spent eight years in the New York theater.

Make-believe is nothing new to her. Even when she was a kid she would conjure up vivid personalities in her mind, she
says.

"Whenever we played house I would direct my friends and tell them to be more emotional and make them go out and
start over. I spent a lot of time alone when I was a kid - not in a bad way - but I would live a lot in my imagination. I made
up characters and was always playing in my head. But it was never anything I thought one could do as a career. I never
defined it as a goal."

Her dad was an executive with Kraft Foods and her mom an English teacher. The family relocated often. "'We moved
to New Jersey and I went to Rutgers and decided to major in acting because it was something I loved and I wanted to
focus in on something. In my sophomore year I did a play called 'Picnic.' That's when I sort of decided. I had a lot of
clarity then and I decided this is what I'm going to do."

Moving to Los Angeles was more than a giant career leap for Flockhart, it was also a cultural shock.

"Suddenly I was working in a whole new playing field," she says. "It's afforded me many opportunities that I never
would've had. Also it's been fun and wonderful and I'm so lucky because I happen to be in one of the best written
romantic comedies, in my mind. I get to play this girl who evolves into ... whatever. There are no rules with her. She is
whatever she is. It's exciting as an actress to have this woman who is full of contradictions and can be up and down
and funny and serious," she says.

"The other side is I've lost a bit of my anonymity and you have to make life-changes to accommodate that. But overall
I'd say the changes have been positive."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" opens in Los Angeles and New York on May 7 and nationwide on May 14.