You played a detective in your last film, Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li. And with Terminator Salvation, you are playing Lt. Blare Williams, a role that again demands much ‘action’. Comment.
People sometimes have the impression that tough action roles are one-dimensional; that’s not true. I don’t know why you can’t be the ‘tough girl’ in a film and be sensitive and introspective at the same time. Blair is a survivor and her toughness comes from the ability to survive. She is someone who has a good heart and I think the vulnerability is something that she brings out at certain moments and she also uses it to her advantage to be strong, to do something that’s bigger than herself. She demonstrates that being brave involves doing something that’s selfless. You don’t do it for the glory. There are no moments of glory; in fact, you do it because you believe in something greater than you, which is not just human survival.

You have done some stunts for the film yourself rather then using a body-double. Why so?
I did gun training and training for the action, but since I am a very physically fit person and I always try to stay in good shape, I didn’t have to do anything excessive later on. But I did work out with weights and I got a lot stronger, although I don’t think I am as tough as my character. But it was fun being very physical, pushing the limits, doing as many stunts as I could.

There is a scene in the film that required you to run through a minefield. Would you call that the most dangerous stunt of your life? If not, what would you call the most daring stunt you have ever shot?
It can be quite scary running around with land-mines going off all around you, even though they are not real. I’ve done movies with a lot of action before, but this was scary at times. There was a moment when Sam Worthington and I had to jump and we couldn’t see because there was a lot of smoke, so we didn’t know just what we were jumping into. Of course we knew it was really safe, but I remember just being uncomfortable in some scenes.
There is a scene in which I am hundred feet up in the air with wires, I get ejected from my plane and then my parachute falls onto the wire and you see me hanging and I have to grab Marcus’s (Sam’s) hand. I cut my finger on the harness and it was very challenging. I had to keep hitting a lever and make sure the timing was right and I could not look as though I was in pain, but the harness was very uncomfortable and it was also very hot.

You have had a strong association with science-fiction and action through your roles for the television and now films. Has it been a conscious decision?
I am drawn to action and I love sci-fi. I also have a certain look and a husky voice and I am not pretending that I could be Charlize Theron, but I don’t want to be my career to be clichéd at all. I would love to do a romantic comedy and goofball comedies. I really admire Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Ricky Gervais, I think he is wonderful. I’d like to do horror or the supernatural. The Exorcist is one of my favourites. But I love Woody Allen movies too. I want to do dramatic roles too and it would be amazing to work with someone like Johnny Depp and great directors. I’d love to do a great independent movie and then personally I would like to maintain my independence so that Hollywood doesn’t control me.

Now that you have earned global recognition with Terminator Salvation, are you looking to expand your base to foreign film industries? If so, which ones top your list?
I think I would like to try a bit of everything. I don’t want to stick to just one region. I would love to explore my options, maybe even India someday.