“I’D LOVE TO KEEP ACTING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT DOESN’T MEAN ENOUGH TO ME TO DO THINGS THAT I DON’T LIKE”

night-time in the middle of the freezing British winter with two tons of water being thrown at her.

“You can only really admire the strength of that, whereby literally there was ice forming on the decks and Mia’s lips were blue and she kept going, and that is so admirable and so fantastic of any actor,” he says.

Wasikowska studied ballet before an injury forced her off the stage and turned her attention to acting, and she uses her physicality to help tap into the intense emotions that are required to inhibit a character.

“I like to feel it in a physical way, in the sense that if you engage with it in a technical way in your body it’s easier to access those emotions,” she says. “It sort of starts from a physical perspective for me, maybe because I did dance I find that a really easy way to get into it.

“The most important thing for me with acting is to have energy and then be able to channel it into a happy energy or a sad energy or whatever, but as long as I have that energy then that’s okay. I feel really happy jumping in and out of (character). I know some people like to stay in it for the day or for the month or whatever, but I don’t do that because I feel like that takes more from me than it gives me.”

Wasikowska grew up in Canberra, one of three children to John and Marzena, both photographers. Wasikowska always harboured a passion for photography, and has recently transferred that into directing. She first went behind the camera to direct a chapter in the Australian cinematic anthology The Turning, an adaptation of the Tim Winton novel. Last year she directed another short, Afterbirth, which forms part of the feature-length anthology Madly – a series of shorts by directors including Mexican actor Gael García Bernal and British singer and artist Natasha Khan, better known as Bat for Lashes.

Wasikowska’s eyes light up when she talks about directing. “It’s so much fun to be involved in a more creative way than when you are just an actor. I read a long time ago that if you ever get the chance to be a director, to make a film, then you just have to take it, because it’s miracle that any films get made and that you are trusted with that.”

The theme of the Madly anthology is modern love, and Wasikowska wrote her chapter on a mother’s love for her newborn baby. “I don’t know why I chose that topic, I was just interested in a mother and a newborn. I’ve been around a lot of young mums – my sisters have children who are the lights of my life … I just love my nieces and nephews, and seeing my sister bond with her kids and seeing that relationship and seeing friends and their babies, it’s just so moving.” Does it make her want to have children of her own? “Yes, I’ve always wanted to be a mum at some stage … but we had 25 babies on this shoot,” she grins. “All of them are so sweet, but it’s just such an epic commitment. The most important thing is to be ready for it and with the right person.” The choice of a mother’s love for her baby was an interesting interpretation of the theme of modern love for a young, single actress (who was most recently linked to American actor Jesse Eisenberg). Wasikowska screws her nose up when I ask her definition of modern love.

“Oh, I’m probably the worst person to ask.” She is obviously uncomfortable talking about her private life and stares out at the pond in contemplation for a moment. “But I guess when people ask me what’s the best advice you’ve ever got, and I think you can apply this to every aspect of your life, it’s just to trust your instinct. With people and partners and romance, you just have to trust your instinct. And the only times I’ve ever got into trouble in any area of my life – work or whatever – is maybe when I’ve ignored that instinct.” She adds: “It’s just that gut feeling that you can’t always rationalise and you don’t always understand it, but you have to listen to it. But love can blindside you, and that’s the other problem.”

Wasikowska is one of those unique actresses who you would not recognise on the street. Today she is make-up free and dressed in her usual uniform of preppy chic: crisp white shirt, knee-length skirt, brogues and a satchel. In person she is unassuming – she goes unnoticed by the kids in the park despite her playing one of their biggest on-screen characters. Yet send her down the red carpet in one of her favourite designers – Miu Miu and Rodarte, for example – and she transforms.

“I only feel that kind of public persona for very specific moments in the year, when I’m on a press tour or a red carpet, because otherwise I have a completely anonymous life, which is really great, and I’m probably only ever recognised for a second when a film comes out and then it goes away and everyone forgets,” she says.

Obviously, that’s just how she likes it. She appears to have made a life where she is finally comfortable in her own skin and operating on her own time.

“I feel like I’ve found my middle ground, which is awesome,” she says. “I’m super-happy and grounded here [in Sydney], and a massive part of keeping grounded is feeling like I have created a life outside of films and that not everything hinges on my next role.

“I’d love to keep acting, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean enough to me to do things that I don’t like, or am not interested in. I’ve decided to wait for a project that I’m excited about. If it works out and I keep getting roles that I like and projects that I like, then I’m happy to keep doing it because I love acting. But also there are so many things I’m interested in and would be really happy to do also, like directing and writing, so I’ll see what happens and how it progresses.

“I’ve learnt that making a life for yourself is most important – making a good life for yourself and being grounded in a reality as opposed to always chasing after something.”

As we have our biscuits and pack up our takeaway tea party, I remark that she sounds like she has had a somewhat existential experience, not unlike Alice.

“I do feel like I’ve been in my own sort of Through The Looking Glass world,” she says. “And because of that you know that whatever you can make for yourself in reality is sort of the best place to be.” Alice: Through The Looking Glass is out now.