Were you a fan of the Alice in Wonderland books?

I loved the books. I didn’t read them till I was at college. I was really struck by Alice’s emotions and the way she felt overwhelmed by the world around her.

Do you consider it a bonus that this film has the quirkiness that director Tim Burton brings?

The fact that Tim was [directing the movie] made it even more exciting for me. Also, I fell in love with the White Queen. From the moment I saw her in the script, she sparkled to me. I was really drawn to it. I have always had strong feelings about which role I was drawn to, and it has always been the role in the script that I have been asked to consider.

You have gone from Princess [in The Princess Diaries] to Queen, but not the usual type of Queen. Are you drawn to roles that subvert expectation?

I try to bring an unconventional approach to all my roles. It is not necessarily to defy expectation but it is more [about asking], ‘What would I expect in reading this and how can I mess with the rhythm of this character?’

Tim says he had Nigella Lawson in mind as a model for the White Queen – what did you have in mind?

Unless you are playing a real life person it will be inspired by other things. For the White Queen there were a lot of different sources. I was looking at silent films with Greta Garbo and looking at the way she moves, and I looked at Debbie Harry for the glam, punk-rock element.

And Tim had mentioned Nigella and she helped in the cooking scene because of her ease in the kitchen and the way Nigella is very sensual with food. I wanted the White Queen to have that. 

Do you cook?

I’m trying – I am new to it. I am working on the basics right now and trying to find my go-to chilli recipe. I am not a very imaginative cook. I follow recipes, but I really do enjoy it. I like time-consuming cooking projects when I spend all Sunday in the kitchen making a big meal.

You may not be an adventurous cook, but are you an adventurous eater?

I have eaten fried crickets - they were crunchy but I didn’t think they were nice. But I was happy that I had done it. The one thing that I absolutely cannot eat is tripe! I cannot eat any type of intestine.

A friend has come back from Bhutan and they showed me pictures of something they ate - it was the grilled guts of some animal and it was not appealing. I get a little nauseous thinking about it. So I am not that adventurous. The Travel Channel would never give me my own show.

It is said that you are very choosy with your roles – do you agree?

I have never thought about it that way. My choices are character-driven. I want to play characters that interest me in films that are directed by film makers that I respect.

Do you think that after Rachel Getting Married and your Oscar nomination that people saw you in a different light?

People that I really respect have come up to me and said that they did not think that I had that in me. That is a very nice feeling but I wasn’t out to prove anything with that role. But that happened without me trying and it was nice.

I started when I was so young and my goal has always been career longevity and so I always planned to take my time with everything and explore things. I am not sure that I could have played a character like Kym [in Rachel Getting Married] before I did. I had a lot of growing to do and I still have a lot of growing to do. So I just hope to work with people who are going to help me grow.