HARD to believe maybe, but it is only three years since actress Gemma Arterton graduated from RADA.

Already a rising star in the British film industry, having made her mark opposite Dame Maggie Smith in the BBC drama Capturing Mary, Arterton now boasts a show-reel of which to be proud.

Following her feature film debut as the feisty head girl Kelly Jones in the reimagined St Trinian’s, the 24-year-old demonstrated her versatile nature in projects ranging from Tess Of The D’Urbervilles to Quantum Of Solace, in which she played Bond girl, Strawberry Fields.

Right now you can find her starring in the box-office smash Clash Of The Titans, and soon she will appear alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the Disney epic, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time.

Next week, however, there’s a chance to catch her in one of her most challenging roles yet, as a kidnap victim in the low-budget British movie, The Disappearance Of Alice Creed

A thriller, The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, centres on the kidnapping of a young woman by two ex-convicts. Written and directed by J Blakeson, Arterton plays the captured Alice, opposite Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan as Danny and Vic, the kidnappers.

Alice comes from a wealthy family and, after taking some snapshots of her, the kidnappers fire off a ransom demand for £2 million in exchange for her safe return, but Alice is smarter and more resourceful than her captors imagine.

“When I read the script, I thought, ‘Yeah I want to do it’ because it was such a brilliant character to play,” says the actress, who is handcuffed to a bed for much of the film.

“I get to lie, I get to be restrained and the dichotomy of being stuck to the bed and yet still having to be very active was a massive challenge to me.

“I’m quite a physical person and gesticulate a lot, which is a problem when you’re in Hollywood and they do everything like this…” she drapes an arm over the back of the chair and pouts.

“So it was quite nice being restrained and helpless, and not able to express myself. It added to the frustration and the tension of the character – she is helpless physically but her mind’s going, trying to work a way out.”

The challenge of the role became more intense for Arterton when, for one scene, she was stripped and tied to the bed – she was also gagged for many of the scenes.

“There were times when the gag did get a bit much and I would say, ‘Look guys, can we take a break?’ but you know, it was a really trustworthy situation. I never felt at any point that I was being taken advantage of or that anything bad was going to happen.

“I was in such good hands. I trusted J Blakeson, the writer-director, so much. It was quite funny actually, because I’m quite a chatty person. We had the props guys on set, they would have to handcuff me and tie me up and sometimes I’d be chatting away and they’d be like, ‘Oops, okay now,’ and put the gag in. It was funny.

“Then there was the scene in which I was stripped naked and tied to a bed. That was demanding stuff and there weren’t many girls on set either.

“It could have felt awkward but it was really quite weird because there was so much attention on making me feel okay. It felt like I was in control that day. And actually, I was the one going, ‘It’s all right everyone, chill out, it’s fine,’ and trying to make people laugh and diffuse the situation.”

Perhaps unsurprising, then, that Arterton believes audiences will be surprised by her choice of role.

“When I read the script I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do this,’ but no-one else thought I could because they’d seen me in Bond and Tess Of The D’Urbervilles. But I thought, ‘Yeah, this is the sort of stuff I feel I can do’, because I’m quite fiery.

“I actually find the other stuff harder, like Clash Of The Titans and saying things like: ‘This is your destiny.’ I find that really hard.”

Compared to some of the films Arterton has worked on The Disappearance Of Alice Creed was a relatively small shoot, with a crew of around just 30 as opposed to the 200 or so the actress would expect to work with on a big budget movie.

“What was so appealing about this job is that it was so tight, there was no messing about. Prince Of Persia was shot over six months and sometimes we would do a scene a week. I just get so bored, you know, like, ‘I’ve said this line 90 times and it’s not even usable now because I’ve lost any emotion or sparkle in the eye.’

“Alice Creed was shot in four weeks and we were doing three scenes a day. I was just like, ‘Yes!’ ”

It’s plain to see that Arterton is proud of her latest piece of work, but then she is the first to confess that she never really saw herself as a Hollywood movie star.

“If I’m really honest I never imagined myself in those Hollywood movies but I got offered them and thought, ‘Well, I’d better do them then as they’re big opportunities and a lot of fun.’ Then, when I did, I rode the wave. But my heart’s in the type of films that I go to see at the cinema, and they’re not Hollywood blockbusters particularly.

“I’ve not got anything against them – I’m in them,” she laughs. “But I don’t go and spend my money on them. I’d much rather see this kind of movie. That’s what’s in my DVD collection.”

By Liam Rudden

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed opens in cinemas next Friday

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