Heather Graham, from the blockbuster comedy The Hangover filmed here in Las Vegas, overcame her fear of heights to fulfill a longtime dream to fly with the acrobats and aerialists of Cirque du Soleil.

It was a surprise birthday gift from her boyfriend, film director Yaniv Raz, that only the artists of Cirque du Soleil could pull off. Yaniv first put together a secretly planned overnight trip here for her weekend birthday celebration.

The couple stayed in an exclusive villa at The Mirage and enjoyed a birthday dinner at Japonais, but unbeknownst to Heather, it was all in preparation for a surprise visit to train onstage with the cast of Ka, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary at MGM Grand this week.

Sufficiently warmed and limbered up, she walked out to discover the 50-foot high wall, a harness and a joystick waiting for her. Our story and photos yesterday detailed the amazing fun facts that comprise Ka’s intricate machinery and equipment.

Heather told them: “This was a blast, even though I’m slightly afraid of heights. It was always my dream to fly onstage with Cirque du Soleil, and you’ve helped bring my dream to life.”

MoveOn is putting “The Hangover” starlet Heather Graham in a new starring role in a new ad, playing a very appealing public health insurance option competing with very unappealing insurance company stand-ins.

The piece argues that insurance companies have gotten bloated and lazy while feasting on profits generated from inflated premiums.

The ad represents these moribund institutions with business-dressed types standing on a track munching burgers, putting on lipstick and looking anything but ready for a race.

MoveOn.org has created a new ad in support of the public option that features a fit Heather Graham in running clothes, sprinting against overindulgent insurance company representatives.

The ad will appear on national cable television and on the Internet.

MoveOn says the ad is part of a week-long campaign to counter messages from insurance companies and its lobbying group, AHIP, against the public option. “It reinforces the message that the public option is the best way to lower costs for American families and keep private insurance companies honest,” MoveOn said in a statement.

In the Heather Graham ad, several insurance representatives are standing at a running track, one of them stuffing his face with a huge sandwich, and another one pouring champagne from a bottle into his mouth. Ms. Graham, the only one in running clothes, stretches at the starting line before twisting her body into what appear to be some serious yoga poses, and then she takes off running down the track, with the startled looking insurance people soon taking off after her.

A voice-over says about the public option:

Some in Washington say this is unfair competition. But competition is as American as apple pie.

MoveOn joins a list of other organizations taking to the airwaves on cable and the Internet to encourage more public support for the public option.

As Congress starts to pare down what will be in the final health bill, several groups have been creating ads that feature well-known people. One, by Brave New Films, features Robert Reich, secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, who says the public option plan is “not very scary or complicated.”

Heather Graham has a cure-all for women with confidence issues: take up stripping.

The actress, who plays an exotic dancer in ‘The Hangover,’ says it’s a great way for ladies to feel empowered in their lives. The 39-year-old star has taken stripper classes in the past, but she returned to school to prepare for the role.

“For this film I went back and took some refresher courses (with actress and stripper teacher Sheila Kelley),” Graham said, according to the Daily Express. “It’s a dance class but they teach you pole dancing moves and it reminded me how great it is … It’s for any kind of woman, women of all different ages and sizes.”