A modern equivalent of the young Jean Seberg, waifish, womanly Kim Dickens has made a reputation playing sexually powerful, even daunting characters. The former model who walked the runway as part of Calvin Klein's 1994 spring collection appeared in regional theater, commercials and music videos before making her film debut as Vincent Gallo's tomboyish girlfriend in "Palookaville" (1996). Her TV-movie debut came in NBC's "Voice from the Grave: From the Files of 'Unsolved Mysteries'" (1996), and her second film, Kiefer Sutherland's feature directorial debut "Truth or "Consequences, N.M." (1997), once again placed her alongside Gallo. As a tremulous, revenge-seeking daughter in Jake Kasdan's directorial debut, "Zero Effect" (1998), Dickens provided Bill Pullman with an unusual and effective foil, and "Mercury Rising" (1998) offered her as the female lead amidst heavyweights Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. Her TV credits include the movies "Two Mothers for Zachary" (ABC, 1996) and "Heart Full of Rain" (CBS, 1997) and guest spots on ABC's "Spin City" and UPN's "Swift Justice".
After a supporting role in Alfonso Cuaron’s interpretation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” (1998) and a small part in the straight-to-video release, “The White River Kid” (1999), she made an appearance as an eccentric veterinarian in the poorly-received horror flick, “Hollow Man” (2000). The small feature roles kept on coming: she was seen in “The Gift” (2000), “Committed” (2000) and “The House of Sand and Fog” (2003). Dickens faired better on television, landing the lead in the Showtime movie, “Things Behind the Sun” (2001), playing an up-and-coming singer living a Janis Joplin-like existence. She had a regular gig as a rookie FBI agent on the CBS detective series, “Big Apple” (2001), but network cut the show in less than a month. Dickens appeared as a regular in “Out of Order” (Showtime, 2003), another short-lived series about a Hollywood screenwriting couple that finds their marriage in trouble because of drugs, depression and extra-marital affairs. Dickens finally landed a regular role in a series that stayed on air longer than a month, playing a prostitute in HBO’s award-winning revisionist western, “Deadwood” (2004- ).