Kate Beckinsale: Studies first

London, Dec. 19 (Reuters): British actor Kate Beckinsale, who plays Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese?s blockbuster biopic The Aviator, wants to go back to university.

The mother-of-one?s acting career has taken off with the role in one of the year?s most talked about movies, but that does not stop her dreaming of a degree.

?If I had the opportunity I?d love to go back to university,? she said yesterday.

?I?m 31 years old and if I?m going to go back to college... then it?s probably time to do it now. I never did finish university so that?s always been... unfinished business.?

Beckinsale went to Oxford University to study French and Russian literature but left before graduating after a promising acting career took priority.

The actor has been quoted recently as saying that she would like to train to become a doctor, but she played down the possibility and sought to dispel the impression that her acting career has lost its allure.

?I?m not in any terrible depression. Career-wise I?m happier than I?ve ever been. I?ve just worked with Scorsese and Leonardo (DiCaprio) and that?s all great.?

Beckinsale?s next project is a sequel to Underworld, a film directed by her husband Len Wiseman in which she plays a beautiful vampire warrior.

?I love that I can go from a Scorsese movie to revisiting a character that I should never be playing because I?m so unathletic,? she said.