'Burn Notice' actress conflicted about violence

[July 23, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Gun-toting vixen Fiona takes great pleasure in firing off guns and explosions in the TV series "Burn Notice."

But the woman who plays her isn't comfortable with that. Actress Gabrielle Anwar says she's "adverse to any kind of weaponry and violence."

The 41-year-old British-born actress describes herself as an "ardent pacifist" and says she has a "really hard time" with handling weapons that sometimes come from the military and may have been used in actual warfare.

The USA Network show, airing Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT, describes Fiona as the "trigger-happy ex-girlfriend" of Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan), a spy is stranded in Miami after he's discredited or "burned." Among those he turns to for help is Fiona -- or Fi -- a former IRA operative with a violent streak.

Fiona knows her weapons, but Anwar does not. She says she is "faking everything" she does with weapons. The show's "amazing prop master" instructs her on how to look like she knows what she's doing and how not to fire the gun by mistake, she says, noting there are often live weapons on set.

Anwar has a 10-year-old son and says she worries about glamorizing violence. She says it "bugs" her on a "personal level" when her son visits the set and sees her dolled up in heels and makeup shooting people.

She admits she's "in denial" over the conflict.

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Online:

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/

[Associated Press; By LAURI NEFF]

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