Sophia (on choices): I've always said that I'd rather work for nice people for no money, than get paid millions to work with idiots. People think and say that I'm really interesting because I've done studio pictures and then arthouse films, but I've never made any conscious choices. I always base my choices on the material that's in front of me, as well as who's in it, who's directing it and is the writing any good? Those are the three main things. I don't care how much money is in it, who's producing it, who's whatever. So whether it's TV, film or independent studios, that's the critera. It's also instinctive because when I read a script and the character they're asking me to look at, if I can hear the voice in my head, that's when I know. Sometimes you read stuff that's obviously good but you can't see yourself doing it.
Sophia (on the time before her breakthrough): Keira and I played sisters in Oliver Twist, in 1999, and after that neither of us could get a job. We were like, 'Why are we unemployed? Are we mingers?' We even thought about writing something for ourselves.
Sophia (on rebelling): I was always the good girl at school. Some of my friends were getting pregnant and into drugs, but the most I did was smoke a packet of 10 Marlboros.
Sophia: People ask me about it all the time. But my recollection of growing up was that being a vicar was just something my dad did for a living and religion was not rammed down our throats at all. My dad is philosophical about what I do, and both my parents are very supportive. Even when things get a bit near the knuckle. They accept that I'm acting.
Sophia: (On the prospects of paparazzi following her...) Quite frankly, I'm so boring in my real life that the only thing that's cool is what I do for a living. That's the rock ‘n’ roll bit of me. My daily existence would make them so bored.
Sophia: (On acting...) I’m quite shy naturally so acting is good for me because it’s really forced me to face my biggest fears and come out of my shell.
Sophia (on her idea of romance): Sense of humour is the number one thing for me. Somebody that can make me laugh, somebody who cares really and isn’t too self centered and somebody that has the same kind of ideas about how they want to live their life and same aspirations in terms of family. All of this stuff is great and it’s fabulous but really coming home at the end of the day is what’s important. I think it’s better to come home to something nice than to leave every morning going to work, thinking “Thank God I’m out of there,” so.
Sophia (how she got interested in acting): Basically there was a really gorgeous, or so I thought, drama teacher called Kevin Broadway who’d I’d seen walking around the corridors - I kid you not. Truth be told I only did drama because I quite wanted to be taught by Mr. Broadway. We put on a play as part of our GCSE exam called Teachers, by John Godber. It was only on for two nights and after the first showing a gentleman came up to me, Julian Fellowes. He wrote the screenplay for Gosford Park and since won an Oscar. He was writing and producing a costume drama for the BBC, The Prince And The Pauper and invited me to come and audition. I did, and I got the job. The minute that I walked onto the set I just knew - I thought, “Oh I like this,” and I just completely fell in love with it really and knew there was no turning back after that. School became so boring as soon as I started working really.
Sophia: I've known Keira [Knightley] for years and she hasn't changed an inch. She's one of the most exquisitely beautiful woman on this planet. She's so down to earth. All that and she's five years younger than me! If her success had happened to me at her age, I'd be in The Priory by now.
Sophia: Sense of humour is the number one thing in a man because I need somebody who can make me laugh. I need someone with the same ideas and aspirations as me, because of all that stuff is fabulous, but coming home at the end of the day is what's important.
Sophia: I was trying on some jeans and thinking, Great, I can get into a size 27. But this painfully thin woman in the changing room was complaining, Oh, the 22 is way too big!
Sophia: I noticed when I turned 25 that my metabolism slowed down, which is painful as I'm a major foodie. Now for example, if I'm craving pasta I'll eat it at lunchtime instead of in the evening. It's just a question of having discipline and understanding nutrition.
Sophia: I think you have to make sure you scrub up well when you go out. Otherwise, I'm a bit of a slob at home. I am make-up free.
Sophia: It was just usually really cold and really wet. The funniest scene was where we drag James into the hut. We referred to that scene as the Franco sandwich, me and Bronagh. When she drops down naked and said the line, 'Aah, I haven't been naked with a man for 15 years!' we always used to find that so funny. You know when something kinda gets you and you just can't stop? I'd see him shaking and I'd start laughing... it took about 69 takes to do.
Sophia: For me it's my favourite part of what I do for a living, the challenge of taking on a new accent. Since I was a very young kid my brother and I used to mimic people, I love it. I worked with a brilliant dialect coach on Tristan + Isolde and he taught James Franco to do English and me to do Irish. Also being submerged in Ireland when we were shooting makes it so much easier when you're hearing it constantly.
Sophia: Sadly I didn't get to see any films apart from my own because we were just pressing it the whole time. I heard that Little Miss Sunshine is really good, same with The Science Of Sleep, Gael's [Carc?a Bernal] new film. If I were ever to be invited again I'd want to stay, see some decent films and get my skis on, I think.
Sophia: I must have creeped this poor boy out in the changing room at the swimming pool. I was getting changed when this kid starting screaming, 'Mummy, mummy, Lady Penelope's naked!' The poor kid! For stuff like that to happen in your childhood.
Sophia: The scene where James [Franco] and I push the boat into the water... it took, like, two days, and I didn't have anything under my costume because it was so kinda flimsy. We'd do one take and then we'd go and sit on the beach and James and I were like drowned rats sitting there in wet clothes, being cold. My brain just froze, I couldn't think. James' teeth were chattering uncontrollably, he just couldn't stop it. It was properly rugged. I think working in the elements like that, it brings the engergy. You can see it's cold.
Sophia: We were doing Doctor Who and Steven Moffat the writer brought his son along, who's six. He came on the day that my character, Madame Du Pompadour, who's the soulmate of the doctor, has a little bit of a snog. Steven's son Joseph was obviously a big Doctor Who fan but also a massive Thunderbirds fan. Part of the reason I got the job was because Steven was forced to watch Thunderbirds about 80 million times, so for Joseph to see Doctor Who and Lady P getting it on... I mean, this little kid was bowled over. Doctor Who and Lady P are both these heroes yet they never really had any love interests.
Sophia's mother is called Jane and works in educational publishing.
Sophia can speak German and French as well as English.
Sophia is dating Doctor Who star David Tennant.
Sophia starred in the movie, Tristan & Isolde. She was Isolde and James Franco was Tristan.
Sophia lives in Green Park.
Sophia's grandmother was Russian.
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