Getting Warmer

12 April 2013 | 10:20 am | Dave Bradley

"I auditioned three times: once with Nicholas Hoult and twice on my own… I had to film myself doing a scene at home too, and my Mum read with me, and she was very cute, as she had to pretend to be a zombie."

Teresa Palmer is in LA during the following phone interview, although she was, of course, in Adelaide only days ago. “Yeah, I only got here yesterday. Strange…” Ah well, surely we can talk about Warm Bodies just about anywhere. So what was it that initially got her interested in the script? An interest in zombie movies? The romantic elements? Or was she maybe a fan of director Jonathan Levine (who previously helmed All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Wackness and 50/50)? “All of the above… I was also really excited by the concept: it's original and new and exciting, and I felt connected to it. I loved the characters as they were sassy and funny, but they were also grounded in reality.”

Did she have to audition? “A bunch! I auditioned three times: once with Nicholas Hoult and twice on my own… I had to film myself doing a scene at home too, and my Mum read with me, and she was very cute, as she had to pretend to be a zombie. It was pretty surreal.” Palmer isn't quite a major devotee of zombie movies, however. “I loved 28 Days Later, which felt edgy and raw. I also loved Shaun Of The Dead, but I'm not some major fan; I mean, I liked Zombieland too, but that's where it ends. I went for Warm Bodies because it was new and fresh and pushed the boundaries.” Palmer adored the character of Julie, and liked the way that the script allowed her to be an action hero, a romantic figure and more. “Real life's like that. We're romantics, we're warriors, we're lovers and fighters, and we're all very layered. Julie's a feisty, funny woman, but she's also capable of love… That genre mash-up thing is very attractive: you've got comedy, action, romance and horror, so it's accessible to a really wide audience.”

She's also on screen with Nicholas Hoult's zom 'R' an awful lot, so how was it working with him, and so closely? “I couldn't have asked for a better actor to work with.  He doesn't take himself too seriously, but he does take his work very seriously, which is the ideal combination. He's a really joyful person and fun to be around… He was very enthusiastic, and we fell into this very natural chemistry.”

And while she's worked with some serious stars before (including Daniel Radcliffe, Adam Sandler and Nicolas Cage), was it nevertheless perhaps intimidating sharing scenes with John Malkovich? “He's hilarious, a wonderful man. He's kooky and smart and unaffected… He's a very happy person and has a great sense of humour, and while I was initially intimidated, I then actually met him and had a conversation with him and was immediately eased by his spirit. It was just a blessing to work with him.”

Palmer's been working on other projects since Warm Bodies concluded, and yet there's only one she wants to talk about to wrap things up: “After Warm Bodies I did Knight Of Cups, which is Terrence Malick's new movie. I do most of my scenes with Christian Bale, and it was just the most remarkable experience of my whole career. It was something truly special, and Terry is really my favourite director of all time, so to be given the chance to work with him was just incredible. And it brought back my passion for filmmaking and reminded me about what acting means to me.”

In cinemas now.