Can you tell us about stepping into the suit of such an iconic character? A lot of people grew up with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman.

Well, the first thing you have to say is what an honour! It was funny for me because I kind of got my big break with The Princess Diaries and during the press rounds for that, everyone asked me: ‘Did you always want to be a princess growing up?’ And the truth was, ‘No, I wanted to be Catwoman!’ And I think a lot of women feel that way. And the fact that I am actually her is such a dream come true. It’s such a pinch-me moment. And the fact that I am Catwoman in Chris Nolan’s Gotham to Christian Bale’s Batman is unbelievably cool!

Why did you want to be Catwoman when you were a kid?

I loved Catwoman’s sense of humour. I love how sly she is. I love how she, to use a cat metaphor, walks the fence and you don’t know which side she’s going to come down on. She’s totally independent. And let’s face it, she’s badass!

When you got this role, what did Chris tell you about not letting any secrets out?

It’s sort of implied that everything is meant to be kept under wraps as much as possible. The production isn’t called Batman, it has another name. When I first read the script, I couldn’t take it home with me, I had to read it in a locked room. Maybe the room wasn’t locked, I could be adding that for dramatic effect... but you know....

How do you learn your lines if you can’t even take the script home?

I read it through once really fast and I went back and read over all of my scenes and tried to memorise them as much as I could instantly. It’s cool, you can call Chris and ask: ‘What is this scene about again?’ and eventually you get a copy of the script. But everything is done with the utmost secrecy. It’s implied that this should be treated with a certain amount of secrecy, which is great because I think it is so much more fun to discover it in the movie theatre when there is so much anticipation about the movie. I’m excited for people to discover it when it’s all pieced together the way Chris wants it.

What has been the physical challenge of this role?

I’d always thought I was pretty healthy and I always thought I had worked hard in the gym and it turns out that what I thought was hard, in Catwoman’s world, is actually light to moderate. I have the most incredible stuntwoman in the world and she’s got me and the character to another level.

What styles of martial arts do you do in the film? Don’t you have a dance background?

Yes, I do. The stunt department are all phenomenal fighters and so I’ve just been mimicking them and doing whatever they tell me to do. I do all sorts of kicks. I do a roundhouse kick, I think it’s all mixed martial arts. I don’t know what the martial arts technique is called but I’ve been doing it in heels!

(From left) Gary Oldman, Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway during a hand and footprint ceremony at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood recently

Who is your favourite Catwoman?

They’re all great. Each Catwoman is specific to the Gotham City she lives in and the director that helps shape her. So it’s kind of hard to have a favourite — and I’m not just being political — it’s hard to have a favourite because each one is so specific as themselves. And you look back at the history of the comic and Catwoman gets reinvented every 10 to 15 years anyway. You can have preferences but the core of the character remains.

Did you look at any of them as inspiration?

I grew up with all of them, so I was well acquainted with the character’s dimension. But I didn’t go back to any of the other ones because I’m in Chris’s Gotham City. For me, it didn’t make a lot of sense to look at them for inspiration, even as extraordinary a performance that Michelle Pfeiffer gave, that was Tim Burton’s Gotham. So for me that didn’t make a lot of sense.

After Christian Bale you are the most high-profile person in the cast…

Obviously Christian is Batman and it’s the Batman series and he’s the star of it. One of the things that I love about working with Christian and this franchise is that it does feel like an ensemble each time. Christian is the leader of the actors and he is so lovely, so I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest.

How does it feel to be Chris Nolan’s first cool action hero female?

I didn’t realise I was the first and I feel a little nauseous, that’s a lot of pressure! I couldn’t feel more privileged to walk on the set every day. I’m the most annoying chipper person, because every day I walk on set I just want to do back flips at how happy I am to be here. I would have played street cop number three if it meant getting to work with Chris Nolan, and I get to play Catwoman! I hope I don’t let him down.

Is Anne Hathaway the best choice for Catwoman? Tell t2@abp.in