Gemma Arterton: Queen of the adaptations

6:50am Saturday 20th September 2008

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DESPITE spending the last few months in some of the world's most glamorous locations filming one of the year's most anticipated films, Gemma Arterton still describes filming Tess Of The D'Urbervilles as the best time of her life.

When you consider the amount of time she spent during shooting of the forthcoming Bond film getting up close and personal with buff leading man Daniel Craig, that praise seems even more startling.

"I loved every minute of it," says Gemma, excusing herself while tucking into a big fruit salad. "I haven't eaten yet, I'm starving."

The new adaptation of Thomas Hardy's story begun on BBC One last Sunday. It's divided into four hour-long parts and promises to be among the most faithful retelling of the classic tale to date.

Now regarded by critics and scholars as the author's finest work, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles sent shockwaves around the literary world when it was first published in 1891.

The novel's themes of love, betrayal, violence and at times bleak imagery didn't sit well with cultural commentators of the day, who criticised the book and its eponymous heroine for an apparent lack of decency. Some shops even sold the book in brown papers bags to save customers any shame or embarrassment after purchasing a copy.

Hardy, however, thrived on challenging Victorian attitudes, and as a result the story still feels modern.

"Tess really got under my skin and I didn't have to try," explains Gemma, who read the novel several times while preparing for the role.

"Her story is just something I could empathise with completely.

"It's the sheer strength she has. Tess is such a heroine in every sense of the word, and I desperately wanted to play a part like that.

"She goes through so much, and maintains this sense of dignity until the end, which is phenomenal. She doesn't give in to anything really, only a couple of times. That's not something you see very often now in women, that real pride and confidence in what her ideals are," the 22-year-old says.

"I love that about her, and I'm not like that at all!"

For those unfamiliar with the story, it begins with Tess' father, Jack Durbeyfield, being told he has links to a long-extinct aristocratic family, the D'Urbervilles.

Being a penniless farmer, he wants to explore his rich ancestry further. Tess's mum Joan - played in this adaptation by Gavin And Stacey writer Ruth Jones - decides Tess should pay a visit to the wealthy D'Urbervilles to 'claim kin'.

Tess reluctantly agrees, and upon arriving at a stately home, bewitches her 'cousin' Alec D'Urberville, who tries to woo her before offering her a job on his farm.

Once there, Tess starts on a tragic path, but giving any more away would ruin it for newcomers to the powerful story.

Hardy's novels are set in the semi-fictional county of Wessex, and, unlike other adaptations of his stories, this version of Tess is filmed in and around the areas he used for inspiration -Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset, with some additional scenes shot in Gloucestershire.

"We shot outside so much," Gemma says.

"The weather was really extreme, which was quite spooky, it changed from one hour to the next.

"I felt the weather was an omen, really. One day it was snowing really heavily, like a blizzard, and a line from that day's script was 'On a clear day, you can see the veil of the great dairies, but there aren't any clear days'.

"It was true, but then five minutes later it stopped, everything thawed and the sun came out for a scene when we needed it to."

While filming her scenes Gemma learned to milk cows, carry chickens, chop swedes and muck out stables.

"All that was so funny because I'm such a city girl," says Kent-born Gemma.

"Tess obviously isn't, so it had to look realistic. I was skimming milk one day, and had to put my hand in a big vat of milk and get all this stuff off it.

"It was great though, so nice to be there in the countryside. I live in London, so it was really refreshing."

One scene she probably wasn't quite so pleased with involved her being outside in the freezing cold for eight hours in the pouring rain.

"I'd been in the cold all day working on the farm, the cold was in my bones, and I was drenched," she remembers.

"Saying that, I think it helped me, because I felt a fraction of what it probably felt like to live that life. I was drained though."

With new Bond film Quantum Of Solace now in the bag and ready for its October release, plus a couple more big films in the pipeline, Gemma's star is well and truly on the rise.

Blessed with great talent and stunning looks to match, it would be easy for her to get carried away, but she remains down-to-earth, arriving to our meeting on her own, and openly chatting about shopping on the high street - she used to like Primark until reports surfaced of alleged unethical practices - and the joys of a Sunday roast dinner.

She's not focused on Hollywood either: "I don't worry about if it's on TV or a film. It's just the story and script I'm interested in. If they're good, then I'll do it."

Considering her recent credits before Tess include Quantum Of Solace, last year's St Trinian's revamp and British comedy Three And Out, it's no surprise when Gemma says she likes to keep things varied.

"It's the thing that excites me about acting," she says.

"I don't want to play the same character all the time, and transforming is really interesting.

"I see other actors go from role to role and think I'd like to try that too. Actually, I will make sure I do."