VICKY KRIEPS

Tell us about your role in Phantom Thread. I think Alma is strong-willed. She has something about her you could almost call eerie. We don’t know where she comes from. She’s emigrated to England, probably because of the war. You can tell from her behaviour that she comes from a very simple background. She’s very open and close to her feelings. She’s also very patient and restrained and respectful of the world around her. This is why she can become this muse and lover of Reynolds Woodcock [Daniel Day-lewis]. It’s as if she doesn’t exist by the rules of society, which I think gives her the strength to actually confront this man and maybe even lead him by the hand.

How was your first audition for the film? I thought it was just a student film! Paul [Thomas Anderson, director] saw a movie I did called The Chambermaid Lynn, liked it and asked me to send a tape. I asked a friend to film me with his phone. I really thought that I did everything wrong. The lighting was wrong, the sound was wrong — because it was a phone, my friend’s voice was louder than mine. But it worked.

What’s been the maddest moment of your career so far? My first day of shooting this movie was one of the maddest experiences. I had met Daniel only once before, for a read of the script, but he didn’t want to rehearse with me — so the first meeting on-screen was basically a real first meeting. I was so nervous.

Who would be your dream director? Well, Paul Thomas Anderson! It’s difficult, because I’m very open to everything. There are so many young directors out there. I wouldn’t just focus on people who are already out there.

What was your first acting role? When I was at school, we did a circus, and I was a clown. I wouldn’t leave the stage for, like, ten minutes. I just kept improvising! I think I always had the urge to perform. I would never have dared to be a movie actor, because I came from Luxembourg. There, thinking of becoming an actor is like going to the moon.

Who would play you in the film of your life? Maybe Daniel? I think he could do it. I don’t wear high heels, so that might help. He’s a strange enough creature to play a creature as strange as I am.

Who would win in a fight — a horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses? They would never fight! They would probably just sit around a pond. The horse-sized duck would eat the algae and the duck-sized horses would eat the grass. JOHN NUGENT

PHANTOM THREAD IS IN CINEMAS FROM 2 FEBRUARY