Is that where the excitement of the job sometimes comes in, though, that even with the most meticulous planning there's always an element of risk?

ZB: There's a bit of that and the fact that there's always some kind of risk is kind of why we get hired and why we do a lot of stuff actors won't do or can't do or aren't allowed to do or whatever. But, yeah, it's also part of what keeps it fun and exciting. It's like sports; you don't play sports because it's like taking a walk in the park, you play because it's a game, you're competing, you know, there's something about it that's a little bit addictive. I know for me too, there's a lot of enjoyment in the execution. Just getting it right; nailing it. There's always so many different things coming in to play if you're doing a fight and battling six different guys you've got to remember where the camera is, sometimes you've got to hide your face. There's a lot of piecing it all together and making it work that can be really satisfying. It can be really frustrating, but it can be really satisfying and I think that's part of it too.

Is the innovation part of it? It seems there are always people coming up with more and more creative stunts to do.

ZB: Definitely, and it's hard because people always ask what your ideal stunt would be. I feel like I need to think of a really good one, but there are just endless possibilities out there and really it just depends on what the situation is and what the boundaries are that you're given.

I think that's the exciting thing about being able to be the face and the action of a character because it just opens so many more doors when it comes to that sort of stuff. Your way is limitless.

Is there anything you wouldn't do, stunt-wise?

ZB: Not that I know of. And I don't mean I would do anything, but when it comes up that's when I know how I'll feel about it and ultimately I'd like to think I'd have the balls to say no to something if I thought it was going to kill me. For whatever reason, maybe I'm just not the person for the job or maybe the guy that I'm working for or the girl that I'm working for isn't safe. And it often does take more balls to say no. I haven't had to yet - knock wood - but I hope if it does come up I'd have the guts to say that.

How long did the chase sequence take in the movie?

ZB: It took six weeks.



That seems very fast considering how long and complex it is...

ZB: We got a hell of a lot of footage. The takes we were doing were so long, we would just drive from one end of that road to the other over and over. I know that road backwards with my eyes closed! We would pretty much shoot the whole way. I couldn't hear anything once we started rolling because I'm strapped to the bonnet with wind and stuff. I would rehearse whole sequences and we would just go for three or five minutes straight. Fucking exhausting, mate!

Is it as exciting for Zoe the person as Zoe the character to play ship's mast on the bonnet of the Vanishing Point challenger?

ZB: It's pretty fucking cool out there. Especially where we were in Buellton, because it's so beautiful. We were there while the seasons were changing so it went from really hot to fucking cold in the mornings, and the change in the colour of the fields and the trees, it was just beautiful scenery. When I did get to chill it was cool. It was exhausting - and there were times when it was so ridiculously hot that my tummy started burning on the engine and times when it was Baltic-ly cold that I'd have to get Rosario to push my sweater through the window - but it was just amazing. Aww, I'm getting all nostalgic! [laughs]

Can you tell us more about the Indiana Jones for girls movie?

ZB: I wish I had a title for you, but yeah. Senator Films, who are distributing Death Proof in Germany and who also produced a bunch a movies, they want to produce a movie starring me, at this stage, as a soldier returning from war, which is basically to set up the fact that the character's a bit of a loner and has action abilities. She ends up being paired up with this young girl whose life she saves who she becomes responsible for. So she's running from the bad guys trying to find the good guy who's the girl's dad. It's like an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances trying to look after this young girl that she's ended up with and what happens in the relationship between those two and what she learns from the experience.

I'm involved early enough that I'll be working with them on the action sequences and all that stuff. I realise how fortunate I am to be in that position, but it's indicative of the way I'm coming in, because that's about the only way we can do it.