Gemma Arteton

Film The Disappearance of Alice Creed

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1379177/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Despite complaining about her film career, Gemma has agreed to star in new movie The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

In the film, she plays a kidnap victim and she loves the role because she has to get "down and dirty".

Gemma said: "I wanted something that was getting down and dirty, and really not about how you look. I wanted to have f***ing hair and make-up everywhere, just not giving a f**k!

"And yes, I get tied up, beaten and there's nudity. All the things that make people go, 'You should not do this!' But I put my foot down."

The 24-year-old, who shot to fame in the St Trinian’s movie and Bond film Quantum Of Solace, plays a millionaire’s daughter who is kidnapped and held to ransom and revealed her method acting required she be bound, even when it wasn’t being shown on camera.

Gemma explained: “One of the things that attracted me to the film originally was the physical aspect of the performance, because I did a lot of physical theatre before I started in film – being tied up, being restricted, those things completely inform what’s happening emotionally, which is really helpful.”

She went on: “So sometimes when the camera’s not on my whole body I’ll still insist that I’m completely tied up, just because it does help that feeling of panic or claustrophobia.”

Q. But spending hours with that gag in your mouth must have been awful?

Gemma Arterton: Well, you don’t spend hours in it… you take it out between takes. There were times when it did get a bit much. The mummification scene was hardcore, because I also had the gag in. It felt weird. But it was a really trustworthy situation. I never felt at any point like I was being taken advantage of. I was in such good hands. I could also spit the gag out whenever I wanted to. On the first couple of days, I remember saying: “Yeah, put the gag on tight!” But then I was: “Actually, no…” It tasted horrible as well… of Listerine or something weird. It’s quite funny, though, because I’m kind of a chatty person and the props guys would have to handcuff me and tie me up and sometimes I’d just be chatting and they’d just pop it back in… like: “OK now, shut up!” [Laughs]

Physically I had tiny rope burns and I started getting these little cuts on my mouth from the ball gag, so they actually loosened the ropes and stuff."

"I'd just come off from doing an action movie so it was so nice to be laying in bed (tied up)! You know everybody else is pottering around and doing their thing and I'm just lying there. Sometimes I'd fall asleep while they're setting up the next shot with handcuffs on!"

But Arterton insisted on staying tied up in between takes after realizing how time consuming and cumbersome it was for producers to keep untying her - and she credits the restrictive shoot with helping her to develop her character.

She says, "It was a hassle (to be untied) to be honest, rather than, 'I want to be this character', because I'm not like that. I do like to snap out of it (being in character) and talk. I was just like, 'Ah don't worry about untying me,' because it would take about 10 minutes to untie, then retie so I just stayed there. It was easier that way and made the work faster..."

"It was really helpful as well because in some of the scenes where I had to feel claustrophobic and trapped, the physical restraint really enabled and aided the acting."