Claire Foy: 'I've surprised myself by not behaving like a massive knob'

(Getty Images)

I want to be an actress not a celebrity I don't want to get involved with that whole circuit, it's not me. I've been to a couple of red-carpet events; everyone's taking your photo, and you know one person there. It feels strange, like arriving at a party with no friends in sight. Why would you do that?

I embarrass myself on a daily basis Particularly after I've had a glass of wine. All of a sudden I think that what I have to say is really important, so I end up telling people how to run their lives. I'm lucky that my friends know me well enough to say, "Claire, shut up."

I feel very lucky I've worked in supermarkets, put tags in baseball caps and provided security during Wimbledon, but I never thought acting would be something I'd be any good at, or make a living from.

I must have seen 'Titanic' more than 100 times Growing up, I was obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio. But the line I always remember is by Ioan Gruffudd, near the end: "Is anybody alive out there, can anybody hear me?"

My private life is no one else's business Isn't it rather odd telling total strangers about the personal things in your world? It's all still new to me, but I can just imagine my friends saying, "Cheers Claire, but I didn't really want to be in the newspaper."

I hate having to pose for photos It's just so embarrassing. Everyone is expecting you to know what to do because you're an actor but I haven't a clue. I wish I had something inside me that could say, "It's all right, just do 'Blue Steel' from Zoolander and everything will be fine." Instead I feel I've let the photographer down.

I'm a bit of a granny, really I love home, any home really – my mum's, and of course my own. I love eating food there and chilling in bed with a cup of tea. I used to live with five friends when I first moved to London; it was brilliant, but intense – I couldn't do it any more. Now the best part about going out for the day is that I get to come home at the end of it.

The paparazzi need to remember their humanity To stop and think "Oh, that person is having a bad day, maybe I won't photograph her" or "Do I really need to take a shot of her taking out the bin?" If they treated celebrities as normal human beings, they'd never go as far as they do.

I'm more mature than i gave myself credit for I'd expected a slow burn before anything big happened in my career [Foy appeared as Lady Persephone in the BBC's recent Upstairs Downstairs and her first Hollywood role, in Season of the Witch, came earlier this month], but the past few years have been crazy, and I've surprised myself by not behaving like a massive knob; I've coped quite well, though I can still be a wally.

Nic Cage is a massive star, but he still loves what he does It was amazing to see how much energy he had on the set of Season of the Witch, and when we all watched Bad Lieutenant [in which Cage stars as a drug-crazed cop], you can see there's some of him in there.

It's easier dating a fellow actor He knows how it feels, and understands that going away all the time is just part of the job. But it's not why I'm dating him; it's because he's a lovely person, though I won't tell you who he is.

I've hurt people's feelings in the past But I don't regret anything; you can't. It's about accepting that part of you that did it, and moving on.

Visiting israel was a culture shock Tel Aviv [where upcoming mini-series The Promise was filmed] may be in the Middle East, but it's a thoroughly modern European city, which feels so strange. And the heat makes the landscape feel so different. adam jacques

Claire Foy, 26, is a British actress. 'The Promise' starts next Sunday on Channel 4