The Verge: Imogen Poots

What can you tell me about Chatroom? It's a very different change of pace for Hideo Nakata.

It's a wonderful thing to have had him direct it, because he brings this incredible energy to it. He's like a master, conducting all these surreal scenes that are happening. Chatroom obviously tells the story of these five teenagers online, so you see their online facades, as opposed to their realistic life. That's quite an interesting, modern idea for a film.

I read an interview with you where you said you're bad at anything to do with computers and email.

It's ironic, isn't it? [Laughs] I've gotten better at email since then. I think at the time, I was writing letters with a parchment and quill. I've now mastered the internet, I'm glad to say. I'm adept at technology.

Well, that yen for pen and parchment probably served you well for Cary Fukunaga's remake of Jane Eyre.

Yes, we just finished. I had a wonderful time, gallivanting around hills in bonnets.

You're playing Blanche Ingram. That character is not exactly beloved in the book. What's she like in the movie?

In the book, I think she comes across as quite conniving, but what we wanted to do was a different feel. We kind of played her as seriously flabbergasted that Rochester isn't going to marry her. We don't want Blanche Ingram to be the kind of stereotypical rival -- she's just really confused as to how it all turns out.

You have to sing 1830s operetta in this movie, don't you?

I did! How horrendous is that? I've been an alto my whole life, so that was a challenge, but I enjoyed it because Cary, the director, handled it with a lot of humor. Michael Fassbender and I have to do this duet together, which was the bane of our lives, but we had a wonderful singing teacher who helped us through it.

So what was Cary's approach like? After Sin Nombre, I'm really curious as to what he would do with this material that hasn't been done in other adaptations of Jane Eyre.

I think it's much younger, especially with the cast. You have Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Rochester. It's kind of a new Jane Eyre for a new generation. Of course, it's still very sinister, but I think he'll be bringing that visual aspect from Sin Nombre to Jane Eyre.

And this is your second film opposite Michael Fassbender, isn't it?

Yes, it is. We did one together called Centurion, and this is our second. It was lovely to see a familiar face. He's such a kind man, so it was a pleasure to be able to work with him again.

I read that you'd still like to go to university for two years and study art. Do you think you'd be able to resist acting jobs while you did that?

I think it's a very difficult decision to make, and either way, I think there would be a fear of not having done it. I've been lucky enough to have very liberal parents who say, "If you work hard, you're free to go do what you want to do." I think at times it would be hard, but the acting industry is so predictable, it's kind of an ongoing question, really. As long as I keep acting, it's a wonderful thing.

[Lead Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images]

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