Dianna Agron

You loved her as Quinn Fabray in the television series Glee. And now, Dianna Agron plays the leading lady in the Friday release sci-fi flick I Am Number Four, releasing ths Friday. After a significant role in the Christina Aguilera-starrer Burlesque, she will be seen as “sweet Midwestern photographer” Sarah Hart in the film about aliens coming to earth for shelter. Dianna spoke to t2 on the phone from Los Angeles.

You’ve become synonymous with Glee. How tough is it to break that now and think of a movie career?

It is a double-edged sword. When people know you from a project like Glee, sometimes they might not be too open-minded about other characters you go on to play. Because they have seen you as one character for a while. At the same time it opens so many doors. People you have met and people who can assess your abilities. This happens you know. Someone plays a main character and you can only see her as a main character. Someone plays a blonde and you find it difficult to imagine her as a brunette. It’s about time and persistence and the right moment for things. Hopefully you will find it and challenge yourself.       

Did you find acting for TV and acting for movies markedly different?

It can be similar and dissimilar. TV is a very fast vehicle. It just is, by nature. One episode of Glee takes us eight days to shoot. You are sometimes getting new rewrites a day before, or you may have to go to the recording studio the next day but don’t know the words yet. It’s more about thinking on your feet. In a film, you may have one or two changes as you go along but at least you know the story arc. At the same time, one thing about our show is that most of the episodes are shot like a film. We use cranes and wide angles. It’s not just a half-hour comedy.

How was it shooting for I Am Number Four?

It was great to get away from LA for a bit. It was great to be a new character. It was very refreshing, very recharging. When you are shooting in LA, you have all the comforts of home at your disposal. And you may think that during the lunch break I am going to go run and take my laundry in or I am going to have dinner with friends after work. When you are away for a shoot, you are new to the place and you just have your cast and crew around you. You go on adventures in the weekend and take little trips and really engage more in the project because you don’t have all the day-to-day stuff that you would, at home.

Having producers like Spielberg and Bay, what difference did that make to I Am Number Four?

Having Steven and Michael back a project like this, you already have respect for the project. Because they are very iconic. People look up to them. Things can be nothing but great and then everything falls into place when you are shooting, the post (production) and during the release.

How was it working with Alex Pettyfer?

He was very enthusiastic and excited about the project — a team player. So it made things very easy as most of my scenes are with him.

You directed a music video last year. Has the approach to acting remained the same or has it changed after the directorial experience?

It was so much fun directing a music video. It’s all a learning process. It’s something I aspire to incorporate more and more in my life. I think the best way to learn is by doing. So, I will start up small and move forward if it works for me. Making the video has certainly changed my approach. There are quite a few things that have opened up my awareness to important things — in front of the camera to going behind the camera. You understand more about continuity and angles, what works and cuts well together. Being behind the camera, you realise all the more the way a director approaches an actor and how it influences the work.

So if you were to choose between acting and directing, what would be your choice?

Maybe I would be acting half the year and the rest of the year I would be writing and producing. Directing obviously takes up a very large part of the creative time from the start to the middle and the end. It will be interesting to find a balance and see how it works.