Chiswick born and raised, Imogen Poots may spend a lot of time abroad these days, but her love of west London remains constant.

Imogen Poots in A LONG WAY DOWN, directed by Pascal Chaumeil

‘I’m starting to get used to the idea of appearing on red carpets and finding the right thing to wear,’ Imogen Poots, Hollywood’s latest darling, says when asked about how life has changed since her pre-fame days spent predominately in west London. ‘I love fashion and finding outfits where I can say, ‘Oh, my bum looks great in this!’

From Chiswick to Hollywood and back again, Imogen is about as hot as a young British film star can be right now. The tail end of the last calendar year and the first six months of this will see the girl born at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in Hammersmith feature in no fewer than seven films, the most notable of which, A Long Way Down, will continue a rapid rise for the capital’s latest export.

The 24-year-old’s impact is possibly down to the fact she possesses the courage and confidence to live up to her roles. So often booming film performances are somewhat tainted by the real-life reality that the actor posesses none of the charm and charisma we feel entitled to see. Add in her striking, sometimes quirky looks, and there is the potential here for her star to rise even further.

‘I don’t feel I need to project a false self,’ she says. ‘I like having honest conversations when I’m doing interviews because that’s so much more interesting than trying to pretend to be someone else. I like feeling free and independent and being able to enjoy my life. I don’t know any other way to live.’

But it all started in Chiswick, where she was raised by her father Trevor Poots, a BBC TV producer, and her journalist mother Fiona Goodall. Educated at Bute House Preparatory School for Girls in Brook Green, then Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington, by the age of 14 Imogen was part of the Young Blood Theatre Company, affiliated with Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, and well on her way to early stardom.
Imogen Poots in A Long Way Down

A LONG WAY DOWN staring Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul.

Small parts in Casualty and V for Vendetta followed, while a breakthrough role in 28 Weeks Later really brought the actress to the fore. ‘I think you have to keep proving the concept,’ she says. ‘You can be great in one project and, for whatever reason, average in another. It’s possible to get carried by others, or made to look really good by the production quality. For me it was about being consistently good, and that’s irrespective of everything else that may be going on around me.’

It appears that she has a strategy and process by which she follows her acting dream, but the truth couldn’t actually be further away. ‘I’m actually one of these frustrating types who just fell into it,’ she says. ‘Sure, I followed my acting ambitions, but all the way through I was unsure if it was really what I wanted or needed to do. Now, I can’t see myself doing anything else, but for a long time 
I was unsure.’

If she does fall out of love with the big screen, Imogen has a place at London’s Courtauld Institute of Art on hold as insurance, but it’s an offer that will probably never be taken up.

‘I still love the artistic side of what we do,’ she says. ‘I think growing up around Chiswick and being exposed to certain parts of west London, there was so much dramatic and artistic influence, even just in the people and the buildings. That has inspired in me a passion to direct and be involved in art direction too. I love photography as well, and I guess these are all things that could maybe stem from acting. I think acting is a real gift that can often present you with other opportunities that are attached to it.’

But she is in no rush. Right now, she’s taking care of her craft the right way, via a careful selection of roles, none of which cement her in any set area – if proof were needed, see her diversity of performance between Filth and Fright Night. It’s a commendable adaptability that has served her well so far, and will continue to do so.
Imogen Poots in A Long Way Down

With her co-star Aaron Paul in A LONG WAY DOWN.

In new film A Long Way Down she stars alongside Aaron Paul, Pierce Brosnan, Rosamund Pike and Toni Collette in a touching tale that tells the story of four people who meet on New Year’s Eve. They form a close-knit surrogate group and help each other tackle the various problems that confront them over the preceding months.

‘I love the styling of the film,’ she says. ‘It is lots of different situations drawn together into one, and I find that very clever.’

The project has of course taken her overseas, but despite having the option to spend most of her time in LA and New York, coming back home is an opportunity she will rarely pass up.

‘Yes, it’s always good to come back. It’s so odd that one moment you’re doing Hollywood projects, then you find yourself back having meetings in the West End. I have no idea where I’m going to be working from one year to the next, but that is exciting. I like the idea of being a bit nomadic, it seems. Now I’m living in the States mainly although I’ve been working so much I don’t feel that I know where home really is these days. On the road somewhere, perhaps?’ she laughs.

‘But the UK will always be special, even if I’m away for a while. There is nowhere like home, and I think we have such diversity of personalities in the capital too. I must say you don’t really get that elsewhere, and it’s something I’ve noticed since going away a lot.

‘I think places are defined as much by the people in them than the buildings and attractions. West London will always be really special for me because of those people. Ask me to describe who or what that person is and I couldn’t, but there is something that makes those you grew up around very special.’