Cinderella lead actress Lily James is a huge fan of fairy tales, but she laments that their stories often get a bad rep.
"Fairytales and princesses get a bad rap, because it's this idea of Prince Charming sweeping you off your feet," she said in an interview with The Belfast Telegraph.
But James said that there are more to fairy tales than the male figures swooping in to save damsel in distresses. She even said that she was very "moved" by Cinderella's courage and kindness.
"In a way there's so much more to fairy tales. What I look back on as a child, it's all to do with dreaming of more, of not settling, of a love, of romance and travel, of the world and magic - and I like the idea of dreaming, something that takes you away," she said.
James recalls growing up listening to her father actor and musician James Thompson tell the beloved fairy tales, and she would be so inspired by their stories that she would run around their house singing just like the princesses, and it drove her brothers mad.
The actress ended up in drama school, and she shot to fame after landing the role of the free-spirited Lady Rose in Downton Abbey. She appeared during the last episodes of the third season, and she has never left the show since.
James would love to be back for the sixth and final season of the show but her fate depends on the "imagination" of creator Julian Fellowes, she said.
Cinderella director Kenneth Branagh is actually very enamored by James, who first auditioned for the role of Cinderella's cruel step-sister. He praised her for being intelligent, warm, and patient, as well as marvelled at the fact that the actress has no inhibitions.
"Somebody said something funny, she laughed and then she suddenly did a big snort!" he recalled. "She didn't seem remotely embarrassed about that - and why should she be?"
In fact, James developed such a good working relationship with Branagh that she will be reuniting with him with co-star Richard Madden (who played the Prince) in the stage version of Romeo and Juliet at London's Garrick Theater.
"I'm really excited about it," admitted James.
As for her personal life, James is currently dating Doctor Who star Matt Smith. The couple got the chance to work together on the upcoming film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
