James Franco is Mr. Method, very intense. He scoured the globe for every single copy of the original story whereas I sat with a pint of Guinness and my script.

[on her first nude scene in Art School Confidential (2006)] Terrified. I was... I mean I had a no nudity clause for Tristan + Isolde (2006) because I didn`t think it was appropriate I didn`t think you needed to see anymore than you see to believe that we were in love or making love and quite often you see so much gratuitous nudity in films, especially from women, and my body is a very kind of precious thing to me. So when I was first sent the script and I opened it and flicked through it, and it says `she enters and she disrobes` I thought no way and threw it across the other side of the room. I didn`t really know who Terry Zwigoff was at this point and then it was actually James Franco who told me Terry Zwigoff is really good and you should think about that and I said `no, no, no, no I couldn`t possibly`. Apparently Terry scoured the country and I think other parts of the world... he is very, very picky about his casting and the producer had apparently got him by the throat and said `look just tell us what you want`. There was about two weeks left before shooting and he said `I don`t know maybe like a young Kate Winslet` and I had met the producer Rus Smith when I was 21 in LA and he said `okay I know where she is, that is fine` and they tracked me down. It was really when my agent Tony Howard ICM said `listen you really should take it... you don`t not take a meeting with Terry Zwigoff`. So I said `fine` and they flew me out and we met at the Standard and just hit it off straight away and when I found out the rest of the cast that was attached like John Malkovich, Anjelica Huston, Jim Broadbent, Steve Buscemi...

I`m just pretending that this isn`t real. You`ve got to continue living your life, otherwise it`s so expensive! You`ve got to take taxis everywhere!

[on Tristan + Isolde (2006)] The funniest scene was where we drag James into the hut. We referred to that scene as the Franco Sandwich, me and Bronagh. When she drops down naked and said the line, "Ah, I haven`t been naked with a man in 15 years!", we always used to find that so funny. You know when something kinda gets you and you just can`t stop? I`d see him shaking and I`d start laughing... it took about 69 takes to do.

Sense of humour is the number one thing in a man because I need somebody who can make me laugh. I need someone with the same ideas and aspirations as me, because of all that stuff is fabulous, but coming home at the end of the day is what`s important.

I hope that other women will think it`s refreshing to see a normal-sized woman on screen.

I`ve spent a lot of time in LA and I love it. A lot of Brits can`t stand the place, but I like the west coast attitude and the way people celebrate success.

It`s so difficult because, y`know, you`re only as good as your last job in this business and sometimes it can take a while to shake a dull one off.

There have been occasions when my agent has said I didn`t get a job because I was too hefty. But the heaviest I`ve ever been is a size 10! I find that rather sad and don`t want to work with people with that attitude. I honestly don`t know where this skinny stuff began. Men don`t like it either.

My biggest ambition is to have a family. To have a baby is one of the most amazing things a woman can do. Not that I want to do it until I`m ready. There`s so much I want to do first.

I love designers who really embrace women`s curves. My favourites are Agnès B, Alberta Ferretti, Armani and Stella McCartney.

If there is going to be nudity in a film, I would rather do it myself than use my body double. If they use one, they can go and do a day`s shooting, you don`t know what they`re doing and people still think it`s you.

I sometimes think that if someone spoke to me the way I speak to myself, I would kick them. I`ve always been really ambitious, whatever I do. At school, I always wanted to be the best in the class - no, it wasn`t enough to be the best in the class, I`d want to be the best in the country.