Tomboy Michelle Monaghan stars in Sleepless

Michelle Monaghan at the premiere of Sleepless in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Reuters

Once upon a time, Michelle Monaghan recalled while discussing her new crime thriller Sleepless on a sunny afternoon in Beverly Hills, California, she wanted to be an investigative journalist.

“I had a very idealistic outlook on life,” said Monaghan, who scrapped those plans when she quit Columbia College Chicago, where she was studying journalism, and moved to New York to pursue acting. “I really wanted to right the wrongs in the world.”