Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Toni Collette, Emmy nominated for her portrayal of a woman with multiple personalities on Showtime's "United States of Tara," admits that she finished up the first season of the dramedy feeling plain exhausted. And what's more, "I was ready to go relax, but it took a long time to stop thinking about the show. It took a couple of months. I've never really experienced that before."

The fact she couldn't shake "Tara," she figures, has more to do with the intensity and duration of the season's production than the fact she's playing five characters — Tara and her alternate personalities.

"I think of the films I've worked on, the longest schedule was maybe nine weeks. This was really the longest, most involving shoot that I've ever worked on, so that probably had something to do with it."

She's not complaining. "It is challenging, but only in the most positive way. It's not in any way vexing," adds the Aussie actress, who rose to fame in such fare as "Muriel's Wedding," picked up an Oscar nomination for "The Sixth Sense," and has a long string of films including "In Her Shoes" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

The "Tara" team has just started work on Season 2, and Collette says, "I'm going to hold my breath and come up for air in three months."

She will, however, be making time to go to the Emmys. She doesn't know yet what she's going to wear. "It may turn into a mad scramble closer to the day, but not at this point."

VROOM WITH A VIEW: "Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam says that the series about a Northern California outlaw motorcycle club has changed his life. But he's not referring to being the youngest series star on FX or anything like that. He's referring to how "The love of motorcycles is now going to be with me forever. It's not something I had coming into this project," says the handsome 29-year-old British actor.

He knows they're dangerous. "I've already had friends who I've lost through motorcycle accidents. But for me, there's no freer feeling in the world than taking off on a bike." In fact, he's planning a 10-day motorcycle trip with his girlfriend as we speak, with a custom set of wheels provided for him by the Eagle's Nest Harley-Davidson dealership in Lathrop, Calif.

"They're giving myself and other cast members a bike, and they did those bikes up for us as well," reports Hunnam.

For himself, it's the Dyna Super Glide — "the ride of every self-respecting outlaw" — with "a head pipe on it to make it louder."

We'd love to see "Anarchy" fans' double takes if they spot Hunnam roarin' up next to them on the highway.

With production of the second season (it starts airing Sept. 8) complete, the blond hottie is looking at movie prospects for fall. And, he reveals, he is planning to do a feature with none other than "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter. "He's going to make a movie the beginning of the year and has super-generously offered me a role."

Meanwhile, Hunnam tells us that acting in Season 2 of the acclaimed FX series has been less difficult for him than Season 1 was.

Sutter originally devised "Anarchy" using the framework from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" — which it has grown out of. That put Hunnam's Jax character in the position of the passive prince, but he grew more and more fired up as the season went on.

"It's difficult as an actor to play confusion," Hunnam observes. "This year has been much simpler. I've had a very clear idea of what I was going to do. A lot of decisions were made at the end of last season, when the character became clear in motivation. It became a little bit easier, and more fulfilling because of that — because I was more confident of the choices I made."

SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY: Heidi Klum tells us she hasn't watched "The Fashion Show" — the Bravo knockoff of her "Project Runway" that was put together after "Runway" departed for its new home on Lifetime. However, she makes clear: "I have to say, I have no hard feelings for people who are doing their own thing. I'm not b——ing and moaning that there is someone who wants to do what we did or anything like that. It's the right of anyone to do what they want to do; ultimately, it's the viewer who has to decide what they want to watch. If they want to watch 'The Fashion Show,' they watch 'The Fashion Show.' If they want to watch 'Project Runway,' they watch 'Project Runway.' I think ultimately it keeps us on our toes, wanting to be the best and be out there making it work — to keep working hard and producing a good show, and being true to our concept we started with."

Klum can afford to be generous. The Isaac Mizrahi-led "The Fashion Show" hasn't come close to pulling even half the numbers "Runway" used to get on Bravo — while "Runway" promises to be a monster hit for Lifetime.

With reports by Emily Fortune-Feimster

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM