Gemma Arterton: All the roles I accept now are complex and creative

The actress said she has been choosing challenging roles

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Equal rights: Actress Gemma Arterton

Alistair Foster30 October 2018

Gemma Arterton has put her Bond girl days behind her, revealing she is now attracted to the “complexities of a character” when accepting film roles.

The actress, 32, is a leading campaigner in the fight for equality in the acting world, and has been choosing challenging roles such as an oppressed housewife in The Escape with Dominic Cooper, and Vita Sackville-West in a film about the writer’s relationship with novelist Virginia Woolf.

Arterton told Harper’s Bazaar: “It is all about the complexities of a character. Every time I do a project now, it’s a creative adventure, an experiment in seeing what I can do ... I can have all that technical information in my brain and yet in the end it’s going to be something that comes through me.”

Many scenes in The Escape were improvised. Explaining the filming process, she said: “It is up to you to react, and that can change everything in a moment.”

Leading lady: Gemma Arterton is attracted to the 'complexities' of characters

Harper’s Bazaar/Richard Phibbs

In Vita And Virginia, Arterton stars opposite Elizabeth Debicki, known for her role in BBC drama The Night Manager.

On being an active supporter of Equal Representation for Actresses, she said: “What we are all striving for: making great parts for women and giving women directors and writers more voice.”

Arterton will attend the 2018 Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards, held in partnership with Michael Kors and Mercedes-Benz at Claridge’s tonight.