ROBERT BENTON - BENTON'S STAIN THERAPY

Veteran movie-maker ROBERT BENTON was ready to quit Hollywood before taking on new NICOLE KIDMAN movie THE HUMAN STAIN, but now claims the film "revitalised" him.

The 70-year-old has two OSCARS to his name, for directing KRAMER VS KRAMER in 1979 and writing the screenplay for PLACES IN THE HEART, but his career has failed to maintain the momentum since - and he admits he was ready to walk away from movies altogether.

Benton says, "Before this came along. I was about ready to pack it in. After my last film (TWILIGHT), I thought, this is it, I'm through. But now I don't feel that way at all."

The Human Stain, which also stars SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS, is based on a novel by PHILIP ROTH, about a light-skinned black college professor who has passed himself off as white for most of his life.

Benton describes the story as "a metaphor for the way all of us 'pass' for something we're not - that is, play a role in life".

He adds, "When I came to New York in the '50s - a kid from Waxahachie, Texas - the first thing I did was buy a tweed suit and a pipe, and try to lose my accent. The Human Stain is very much my story."