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In Demand: Gemma Arterton Interview

15 March 10

She’s been a wisecracking bond girl and an innocent hardy heroine. Next year she’s a spirited princess in the Disney blockbuster Prince Of Persia and a protective goddess in the mythical spectacular Clash Of The Titans. But her most demanding role right now is just being Gemma Arterton.

"I’ve done 14 jobs in the last two years," reflects the 24-year-old actress during a brief lunch break on the set of Stephen Frears’ new comedy, Tamara Drewe. "I recently thought about giving up coffee "but then I thought no, it’s one of the things that keeps me going!"

Working with Frears has been "wonderful," she says."He’s such an actor’s director.He didn’t even audition me for the part.We just met and he said ‘Yes, you’re right for Tamara’.He puts a lot of trust in people he works with. You can see it on set - most of the crew are people who have worked with him for years."

I get letters from schoolgirls saying, 'Please don't become one of those tragic actors.' I take that to heart.

Arterton, on the other hand, is one of our newest stars. In 2007 she was a RADA student with a part-time job on a beauty counter to pay her way. But before graduating she had already notched up a movie debut as Kelly, the soignée head girl who gets Russell Brand hot and bothered in St Trinians (she also has a cameo in the imminent sequel), then followed this up with Guy Ritchie’s gangster flick RocknRolla, ITV’s Lost In Austen, and an acclaimed performance as the heartbreaking innocent destroyed in the BBC adaptation of Tess Of The D’Urbervilles.

BAFTA / Richard Kendal"I just know what I’m interested in and the people I want to play," she says. "I never seem to play a character who’s weak. They’re usually ballsy characters - even Tess. And I think I have some responsibility here. There are many good role models for girls and they do look at actresses and people on TV. I get letters from schoolgirls saying, ‘please don’t become one of those tragic actors.’ I take that to heart."

Consequently, even Agent Fields, the Bond Girl she played in Quantum Of Solace, was no helpless bikini-clad babe. "Well of course she wasn’t, because it would be a disaster if I was in a bikini," she hoots. "But also the fact that I wasn’t the hot tottie in the film took the pressure off me. I could let Olga Kurylenko take care of being the hot one. I was the one down the road you might fancy if you liked geeky girls.

"When I auditioned, I never thought I’d get the role so I mucked about and was really cheeky with Daniel Craig. Thank god he has a sense of humour, because at one point I made a joke about him being short. If he hadn’t been such a good sport, I definitely wouldn’t have got the part."

BAFTA / Ellis ParrinderTime and again in her short career, Arterton has also proved herself willing to do whatever necessary to bring conviction to her character. To play wronged landgirl Tess Durbeyfield, she learnt to milk cows, carry chickens, chop turnips and muck out stables. She can also give you a scholarly account of Greek mythology courtesy of Clash Of The Titans and, thanks to Prince Of Persia, derived from the eponymous video game, she became a rather accomplished horsewoman.

"I’d never done it before in my life so the whole cast went to Spain and learned to horse ride for two weeks," she recalls. "I ended up falling in love with it and insisted on doing my own horse stunts. If you see the trailer, you can see me fling myself onto a galloping horse - and I made sure I looked over my shoulder so you can see it really is me."

But it was Arterton’s quick wit that perhaps sealed the deal for Prince Of Persia director Mike Newell when he cast her as Princess Tamina, even though she tried to persuade him to cast Natalie Portman instead.

"I honestly thought this was another part I wouldn’t get, so I just went in to have some fun," she says in her soft London accent. "When I started talking,Mike said, ‘Oh dear, can you talk posh?’ So I said "Yes I can. Because I went to the Royal Academy of Fu**ing Dramatic Arts." He immediately said "Oh god, I love her!"

Clash Of The Titans opens in the UK on 26 March 2010. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time opens on 28 May 2010

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