Actor Sam Rockwell credits his ex-girlfriend, actress GINA BELLMAN with being the brains behind his portrayal of alien ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX in his latest movie THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

Rockwell separated from Bellman shortly after shooting the film, but will always have fond memories of their relationship when he watches it, because she helped him win over fans of the sci-fi comedy by telling him to base the two-headed character on late rocker Freddie Mercury and US President George W Bush.

He says, "I was in a very serious relationship with Gina Bellman at the time. And she would go through the script with me all the time, and come up with cool ideas.

"It was Gina who suggested I look at Freddie Mercury footage for inspiration, so I'm very grateful. She's great. She also gave me the idea of basing some of Zaphod on my friend Vince Vaughn and George W Bush.

03/05/2005 09:33