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Gemma Arterton 'always loved action'

After catapulting to fame as a Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, Gemma Arterton starred in Prince of Persia.

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Prince of Persia star Gemma Arterton shares her views on movies.
Excerpts from an interview:

Tell us about Hansel and Gretel — this is quite a big film for you.
It is in many ways. It’s the first big action role for me first of all. I’ve always loved those kinds of female action characters and they don’t come along very often. So that was a great opportunity, plus I got to work with Jeremy [Renner] — that was also a great opportunity. I’ve done other movies that were kind of blockbuster type roles, but not giving me as much to do. This one also had a great character for me to play.

It’s been said that you were up against 1,500 actresses for your role in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.
That’s what they said (laughs)… But I don’t know. I know they do kind of scour the world looking for Bond girls, though.

How was this film in comparison? How many women were you actually up against?
I’ll never really know. Jeremy said that they were looking for a long time for Gretel, though. For him and Tommy (director, Tommy Wirkola), that was the key to the film, to find the right girl. I just auditioned for it and I’m very pleased I got it.

What did you do?
I put myself on tape for it because I live in London and couldn’t come over or anything. That’s always a bit of a compromise situation because you’re not reading with the actor and you’re sort of on the other side of the world. You don’t feel like you’ve got as good a shot as the others. But I’m glad I did it. Eventually Tommy came over to London to meet me. And Jeremy saw this tiny little independent film that I’d done, a British film called The Disappearance of Alice Creed. I think they were looking for somebody that was tough, but also vulnerable at the same time. That’s probably what they saw in me.

What was it that you saw in the script?
I loved the fairytale as a child… And I loved how they took the story forward, that these kids grew up to be angry bounty hunters, but flawed  — that they kind of developed this emotional armor of self defense as well in order to survive. Then there was the fun aspect of it. And because it’s a fantasy film, it means you can play. You can really do whatever you want.

How did you prepare for it?
I didn’t have much time. I was doing this play in London, Ibsen’s The Master Builder. I was totally immersed in that playing this very flighty, balletic kind of character. So the main task for me was to become tough. I had to do quite a lot of training. I was in the gym and getting really fit. And then I needed to learn how to fight. That was really crucial actually in forming the character and giving myself some stability and weight —and also in overcoming my fears with stunts and things like that. I mean, I’d done stunts in the past and loved it, but nothing like this. Fortunately we had this great stunt team, really innovative, and they trained me for a month in combat and general fighting techniques. That was the most formative part of the preparation.

Tell us about working with Jeremy Renner.
We had this great connection straight off. He’s such a generous actor. Because he wanted me to do the film so much he was very supportive of me generally and that made me feel very secure. Because it can be quite intimidating — you know, I came in quite late. I think he understood, because he’s a good actor and very selfless, he understood that if this film was going to work it had to be that Hansel and Gretel were a believable duo. He made it very easy for us to have that relationship, camaraderie and banter like brothers and sisters do.

What was it like putting on the costume for the first time?
Oh that great jacket It was really empowering. I felt feminine, yet really tough at the same time. I worked really closely with Marlene Stewart, the costume designer, in getting the whole look right, having the flexibility to be able to do the stunts, but still look cool and powerful — like a huntress.

How does it compare to your own sense of style?
My style tends to be a little bit more feminine. But not too far away. You know every job I do, apart from one where I was wearing the most dowdy clothes (A Song for Marion), I always end up kind of dressing similar to the character (laughs)… I mean I was wearing leather pants all the time (laughs)…

What was the biggest challenge in making this film?
The physical side. For a film of this scale we shot it very quickly — 3 ½ to 4 months. We had a tight schedule. So there was a lot to do in a short space of time, which was  great actually, because we had to get on with it and work at a pace which I think lent itself to the energy of the film as a whole. It was exhausting, but really satisfying. I now understand why guys love doing action movies because when you pull off a tricky fight sequence it’s so gratifying. Still, you have to watch out; you’ve got to be careful because if you hurt yourself the whole film is buggered. That was a challenge too.

When did you decide that you wanted to be an actor?
I decided when I was about 17. I was doing it for fun up until then. I’ve always loved performing, but it was never something I thought I could create a life out of. Seventeen is when you have to sort of decide — are you going to stay on in school or what are you going to do? For me, I was having a great time. But I was also very good at art and I thought I might be an artist. And then a friend of mine just said, ‘Hey, what do you like doing?’ I like acting. ‘Well do that then.’ After that, I never really thought too hard about it. I went to theater school (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), the next year and that’s when I really got the bug.

What was it like making the transition to Hollywood?
It was tricky for me personally at the time. I was young and I went in quite blind. I really came from a theater background. I still feel more comfortable there than anywhere else and I still feel that’s my passion and what I’m best at. Hollywood is a very varied place. The movies that I went into were big Hollywood blockbuster types… You know, usually in the theater there’s a maximum of 15 people. So for me it was overwhelming, actually. Now I feel much more at ease with everything and I understand what I want more.

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