Sienna Guillory Interview

THE PRINCIPLES OF SIENNA

To be blessed with both talent and looks is one thing, but Sienna Guillory's refreshingly down-to-earth nature marks her out as a pleasing change from the uninterested film stars doing the rounds to promote their latest films. Maybe it's due to her relative cinematic inexperience - up until now she has been a more familiar small screen face - but her effusive nature and infectious personality makes her an interviewer's dream.

Although she has had supporting roles in the likes of The Time Machine and Love, Actually, 2004 looks like being a breakthrough year for the 27-year-old former model, best known to date for playing the title role in the tv miniseries Helen of Troy. She is far removed from the model-turned-actress stereotype however, as she brings a real conviction to her latest work, the challenging and often difficult Principles of Lust.

The film is a gritty Northern-set affair, highly charged with sex and violence. Although made in 2001, Guillory remembers the excitement she felt when she got the part. "It was actually sent to a friend of mine" she confesses. "I read it and couldn't put it down, and begged to read for the part." Part of the reason was director Penny Woolcock, whose unconventional and loose sense of shooting also appealed to Guillory. Woolcock works without rehearsing the actors, attempting to find magic in raw takes and allowing the kind of improvisational performances usually associated with Ken Loach or Alan Clarke. "Because of the way Penny works it was incredibly liberating. We didn't have to worry so much about making mistake on script or if the lighting wasn't quite right."

The films sees Guillory strip herself emotionally and sexually, as she begins a passionate relationship with a young writer (Alec Newman). She confesses that she had few qualms about the nudity, trusting Woolcock completely. "We shot all of the sex scenes in the first week. There was one occasion early on when Penny left the two of us in bed naked together and when she walked back into the room we said 'you must never never do that again!'