Kristin puts on English charm

When the director Philip Haas suggested that we do Up At The Villa together, I jumped at the chance. I had worked with him before on Angels And Insects, and I loved the book by Somerset Maugham. He's one of my favourites. Also I found the character I play, Mary Panton, absolutely irresistible.

With her, it's all about keeping up appearances. She's a woman who has lost her money and is now dependent on the generosity of others. She's desperately trying to keep her dignity and there's something pathetic about it that I loved. She is a real woman with all the female weaknesses that I recognise in myself and in my friends. Fickleness, indecisiveness - they're all there, gleaming away.

Like my favourite characters, Mary is someone that you're not sure you like. I enjoy dicing with death like that. But like Fiona in Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Matty in Angels And Insects, she is not what she seems.

Probably my favourite thing about acting is seeing people's weaknesses and loving them anyway. When I make a Hollywood film, I find it difficult because they want you to ingratiate yourself with the audience. They want you to be as appealing and as gorgeous and as loveable as possible - that really goes against the grain. Both times I've worked with American directors, they have said: "Don't worry about it. Just be English - it puts people off." So I've had to trust that. But it's difficult for me to rely solely on my Englishness to put people off.

Up At The Villa
Cert: cert12