Allen happy to reprise role in 'Indiana'

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (UPI) -- Karen Allen says she was thrilled when Hollywood film director Steven Spielberg asked her to appear in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Allen played feisty heroine Marion Ravenwood in the first Indiana Jones flick, 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but did not appear in the second and third installments of the franchise. She reprises her role of Marion in "Skull," due out in theaters Thursday.

"What's funny is that his wife, Kate Capshaw, had just bought a lot of my knitwear for Christmas presents," Allen told More magazine about getting the call from Spielberg. "I thought he was going to tell me he loved the presents! He said, 'Haven't you been watching television? We're doing another film, and you're in it.' And it wasn't a cameo, it was a big, beautiful part and I was jumping up and down."

"Skull" co-star Shia LaBeouf told the magazine he was excited to work with the actress.

"Anybody who saw 'Raiders' is in love with Karen Allen," he said. "I feel that way, my dad feels that way, a lot of the crew feels that way. You come to the set and you're fighting with other guys over Karen's attention!"