“I started university about three weeks after we finished filming the first movie and I did get a few funny looks at lectures but, you know, just because you’ve been in a film, doesn’t mean you are not a normal person and I think people recognise that and treat you accordingly.
And anyway, there are so many extraordinary people in Oxford doing extraordinary things that I don’t stand out at all.”
I think that if you strutted around in huge sunglasses the whole time … I don’t think you are going to make any friends anyway. It’s important to have balance.”
“I think there’s something bizarre about projecting yourself, rather than the characters you play, for publicity. Celebrity is a very odd thing.”
“I’m not sure if I’ve ever been called ‘poised’ before. I have a very supportive family who make sure my feet are firmly on the ground. My brother and sister keep me in check! To be honest, because I’ve always been at school or uni or whatever, I’ve always wanted to get along with the people I’m there with and I don’t think ‘going crazy’ would be the best way to do that.”
“If my friends are jealous, they don’t show it. I’m at an all girls school [North London Collegiate School in Edgware] which could be quite catty but I’ve been very lucky. I had mock GCSEs on the day I got back to school after six months filming so there were 20 minutes of screaming ‘Oh my god, you’re here’ and then it was straight back to ‘Have you done your biology?’ “
“It can be bizarre, today I had a normal day at school, then I went to Armani Couture and spent three hours looking for a dress to wear to the premiere, then I went home to do my essays.”
ON NARNIA
“I had my first audition for this when I was 13 and now I’m 19, so it’s been a big old chunk of my life, and anyway, I wouldn’t want to play the same character seven times.”
“I wasn’t involved in any of the [battle scenes] last time around, and to be the only one on the battlefield in a skirt was interesting”
“My brother bought the video game and walked me into the lamppost about eight times. I think it’s very weird to see your face on stuff in public places. I was confronted by a cereal box the other day, which took me by surprise. Most of it’s going straight over my head.”
“[Kissing Ben Barnes] was a little bit daunting. I mean I’ve never done a screen kiss before and I am not into public displays of affection at all and … well, this was about as public as it could possibly be, with 300 extras just standing around and the film crew…I had to just get over it and get on with it!”;
“I think the weirdest experience I had was I was on holiday in the summer and I hadn’t seen the trailer in cinemas, I’d only seen the tape of it, and I went with some friends of friends to see War Of The Worlds and I didn’t know the trailer was on it and they’d only just met me and they didn’t know about the film and I got this sudden [points] ‘Is that you?!’ It was really embarrassing; a really weird experience.”
“We did a scene where we were crossing the great river and they built this amazing waterfall and hydraulic icebergs which moved when you stepped on them. And just like a real frozen river when you stepped on one of these icebergs water spurted up from underneath them. And William was all right, because he was in trousers, but for some reason every iceberg I stepped on I got water up my skirt! I just ended up at the of the day completely soaked and I had to ask for a new pair of knickers!”
“I’m absolutely terrified of rodents, I thought the director was winding me up. I don’t think he understood just how much of a phobia it was. He called me over one day and had a mouse in his hand and I just burst into tears.”
“With any art form you get very different interpretations. Some people are aware of allegory being there, but others won’t know about the Christian message so won’t relate to that. You see it if you want to, if you’re aware of it.”
ON PERSONAL LIFE
“I’m one of those people who really wants to do everything. And if I had enough time, I really would.”
“I’ve always wanted to play Anna Karenina as I am apparently named after her. Quite why my parents wanted to call me after someone who had affairs and jumped in front of a train I do not know!”
“Humour is very important. Arrogant guys can stay away at once. They’re so disgusting! It is very hard to find mature boys among teenagers.”
“But I’m sure I’ve had some male attention as a result of Narnia, because people may think it’s all glamour or that I must be loaded”
“We know [the Narnia Kids] each other very well after spending that much time together. We know the good things and tolerate the not-so-good things. Skandar lives around the corner from me, and I couldn’t escape if I wanted to.”
“Yeah, I think I am [like Susan], strangely enough. I’m quite a logical person so I definitely identified with her on that front. And I always imagined Susan to be the type who studies pretty hard and works hard at school—and I’ve always tried to focus on my studies. And she’s a big sister, and I’ve got two younger siblings. So, we have that in common as well.”
