Were these the films that got you interested in doing what you do? What made you want to become an actress?

Jaime Winstone: I don't really know, to be honest. When I was younger I never said, "I want to be an actress." I always wanted to be involved in the production side -- putting on a play or getting involved with the clothes or whatever -- but I could never really see myself acting. I'd do creative stuff, in drama class, but I'd never be the one to say, "Oh, can I be up front," because that'd make me cringe. But Des Hamilton, the casting director, got me in for Bullet Boy, and it just went from there. The illusion of being an actress and being completely dramatic and loving the attention is not that true, you know, there are a lot of actors I know who are extremely shy. And I sometimes fit into that bracket, when it comes to acting I love it and I take it very seriously. I knew as soon as I was in front of the camera that it was right and I was in my right shoes.

I grew up heavily into horror films. When I was younger, that was basically all I watched. And Lawrence of Arabia! [laughs] I was really into my Freddy Kruegers and my zombie films and I was always fascinated with moving image and movies. With the escapism you get when you go to the cinema, when you sit in your darkened room and watch a film. It can take you out of your world for a little bit, and I think that's the extended passion of why I do it, because I get to become someone else for however long. You can experiment in another world and find what you can draw from a particular character. I think we're very lucky to be able to do that for a career. Some might take it for granted, but I love it.

Winstone in Noel Clarke's Kidulthood.

Did you spend much time on film sets with your dad growing up?

JW: Quite a bit, actually. When I was younger I remember spending a lot of time in theatres watching my dad, because he went through a bit of a theatre stage. I was completely on set throughout most of my dad's career. I was heavily involved in Nil by Mouth and I was living with my dad and Gary Oldman while we were shooting that. It was a bit bizarre and weird and I didn't really know what was going on!

I went to do a bit of work experience in Prague Film Festival and got a bit of a view on how the big machine turns and how films are actually made on set. How that runner rigs that certain light and how that light affects that certain area. I was educated when it comes to film. I think that's why I'm so confident that this is what I want to do. I've been lucky enough to experience the full effect of filmmaking. Some people come out of drama school and think, "Right, I'm off to be a big star," and hardly any of them have stepped foot in a studio before.

I guess I don't really have that fear, you know. I did running on a Scorsese film, getting people teas and coffees. I spent time on the Indiana Jones set with my dad. You get a sense that on those giant films, the scale of it is so huge but it still ticks like any other films. It's still a group of people getting together; it's just that they have a lot more money, a lot more power and a lot more time, which a lot of films I've done haven't. I've seen quick, short independent film sets with British money where the turnaround is very quick, and then watching a massive film with Spielberg planning two days for one scene.

I do feel I've had a lot of experience and influence that's helped me, not necessarily get my foot in the door, but helped me understand what it is I want to do.