Sporty Estella does tricks

But it's her role in Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes that seems certain to introduce her to a wider audience. Set in a world where humans are the slaves of the ruling simians, the film sees the leggy, 5ft 9in Warren playing feisty Daena, who helps to lead a rebellion against the repressive ape regime alongside Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter. Whether the $100 million-plus production can match the impact of the classic 1968 original remains to be seen, but Estella Warren certainly makes an impression.

That might be because her wardrobe consists of the sort of primitive skinpiece last modelled by Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC. It's perhaps not the most sensible attire for being chased through jungles and deserts by rampaging primates, but audiences aren't complaining - and neither is Warren, who never expected to get the part. 'I was about to sign on to a different movie and then my agent said, "Go to this interview, but don't place too much emphasis on it because it's a really big movie." Three days later they said, "You've got it." It was just fantastic.'

Despite her sporty background, the 22-year-old chain-smokes her way through the interview and is clearly a little nervous. That, though, was nothing compared to what she felt when she turned up for the first read-through of the Apes script. 'I was sitting at a table with Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Roth,' recalls Warren. 'I was like, "How do I fit in here?" It was overwhelming, but everyone was so down-to-earth and sweet and they made life pretty easy.'

It was certainly a more pleasant experience than her time on Driven, where she reportedly clashed with director Renny Harlin. Warren disputes this - 'that was all over-stated' - but seems much fonder of Tim Burton. 'He's the sweetest, nicest guy and you can see why he's so good at what he does,' she gushes. 'It was kind of sad to leave that set in a way, because it's almost like having to go to a new school and having to make new friends. That was my favourite school.'

Albeit a weird one. With most of the cast disguised under heavy ape make-up, Warren had problems even identifying her fellow actors. 'You don't know what they look like out of the make-up, so someone would come up at the end of the day and start talking and I'd be like, "Who are you?"' Then there's the fact that the plot requires her to be one part of a love triangle that also includes Helena Bonham Carter's sensitive chimp. Didn't she feel slighted at having to compete for Mark Wahlberg's affections with a character who swings from trees?

'No. I quite liked it, because the jealousy I felt for her was that she had this elegance and eloquence and she could explain herself to him in a way that I'd never learned how to,' says Warren. 'But between Daena and Mark's character it was just that raw falling in love, which was sweet and kind of nice. It's easy to fall in love with him, because Mark's a sweetheart. He has this real lack of ego - and for an actor of his stature that's impressive.'

Warren doesn't seem to have a bad word for anybody, and you get the feeling that she's been coached to be as bland as possible in front of the press. She deflects all questions about her personal life - 'I like to keep certain things close to my heart' - and is resolutely uncontroversial. The alternative interpretation is that, like Daena in Planet Of The Apes, she doesn't have much to say in the first place.

The daughter of a teacher and a salesman, Warren left her home in Ontario, Canada, aged 12, to attend a specialist sports school and train as a synchronised swimmer. How did she end up in such an esoteric sport? 'My older sister did it, and when you're that young you have to do everything that your older sister does,' she explains. 'I just followed suit, and I found something incredible and a way to express myself.'

By the time she'd retired, Warren had also made her debut as a model after the photographer Ellen Von Unwerth spotted a Polaroid of her. At 18, she moved to New York and, predictably, claims to have enjoyed her time posing for the likes of Italian Vogue and GQ. 'I had a choice and I was in a lucrative position for my age,' she points out. 'But there were limitations as to how fulfilled it could be.'

Her move into acting came after the French director Luc Besson cast her in a commercial for Chanel No.5. 'He said, "You should really do this", but I had always had it at the back of my mind.' She says she brushed off the prejudice that models who want to be actresses often attract. 'I did see it, but I think what separated me was that I decided to completely stop modelling and just focus on acting and see what happened, and in my first two weeks in LA I got three movies.'

Canadians have a history of doing well in Hollywood. Jim Carrey and Mike Myers are just two who've succeeded there, although a more apt role model for Warren might be Natasha Henstridge, another smalltown Canadian girl turned model and actress. 'There's just a more laid-back attitude there,' claims Warren. 'Where I was brought up it was more normal than LA.'

At the moment, her life is certainly not normal. She doesn't even have a home. 'At some point I will settle down. I was house-hunting yesterday, so hopefully I'll find one soon.' With the attention currently being focused on her, she'll need somewhere to retreat to. Is Estella prepared for stardom? 'I don't think it's something you can prepare for,' she says. 'I mean, I don't know what's going to happen. I hope I like it.' She will.