Heather Graham Is Nostalgic For New York Days Of Old

Heather Graham currently stars in “My Dead Boyfriend,” a subversion of the classic romantic comedy. Much like the movies that dominated the genre it plays into, Graham’s latest flick takes place in 1990s New York City.

The actress has lived in New York since 2001 and greatly appreciated being able to simply walk to set from her home to shoot the movie. “I’m from suburbia so to come to New York just seemed like a dream,” Graham told The Huffington Post in a conversation about this latest role. “I was just so excited.”

In “My Dead Boyfriend,” Graham plays a New Yorker whose supposedly deadbeat boyfriend (John Corbett) unexpectedly dies. Through seeking out those who were close to him, she realizes her boyfriend lived a much fuller life than she thought, inspiring her to rethink her own choices. Over the course of the movie, Graham’s character runs into all sorts of classic New Yorkers, from musicians to dog walkers.

“I think New York is so interesting, you can really reinvent yourself,” said Graham. “There’s so many different types of people that you could probably get into any subculture you wanted.”

But despite now being a pro city dweller, Graham recalled a time she visited the Big Apple a few decades ago when the broadness of the city wasn’t a positive.

“I was pretty scared,” said Graham. “I remember the first time I ever came to New York I was 18 and I was going to stay with these friends in an apartment and one of the friends had been mugged.” Graham was terrified and wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into, fearing something similar would happen to her in the neighborhood.

“It’s fun thinking about when it used to be so dangerous,” explained Graham. “I think now New York has become a lot safer and a lot more yuppie.”

“My Dead Boyfriend” is in theaters now.