'If you want to talk to Madonna, make sure you're up on Libya': The world according to Abbie Cornish

The Australian actress on working with the superstar, running around naked and why sex scenes are easier than action ones

'I spent most of my childhood running around naked in the middle of nowhere in Australia. I had the best time. I'm one of five kids... We were encouraged to run wild,' said Abbie Cornish

Blonde, beautiful and hand-picked by Madonna to star in her second movie as director – about Wallis Simpson – Abbie Cornish is one of the biggest new stars in Hollywood.

The 29-year-old former model, dubbed ‘the next Nicole Kidman’, has been named one of the world’s sexiest women despite the fact she sees herself as the antithesis of an LA starlet.
Born in New South Wales, she has won three major acting awards for her roles in Bright Star, Candy and Somersault and most recently starred in Zach Snyder’s cult fantasy epic, Sucker Punch.
But it is Madonna’s latest movie, WE – in which she plays Wally Winthrop, a young New Yorker obsessed with the Royal love story of Edward and Mrs Simpson – that is set to really put Abbie on our radar.

After a three-year relationship with Ryan Phillippe, Abbie split from the actor last year, but she adds, ‘I’m very happy as I am.’

On Madonna: 'Her mind never stops working. She's also very funny. She tells a lot of good jokes'

Madonna’s one of the smartest women I’ve ever come across.

You need to be totally switched on to the news and current affairs to talk to her – she asks you questions all the time and expects you to be up on everything that’s going on, from Libya to the latest advances in technology. Her mind never stops working. She’s also very funny. She tells a lot of good jokes. She is one of the coolest women on the planet. I didn’t know what to think when I met her but she was everything you expect and don’t expect at the same time. The biggest thing that surprised me about her was how much she includes you in her life and her family when you work with her. I hung out with the children and we’d talk about everything from shoes to the state of the world.

My most surreal memory of working with Madonna is the stylish way she finishes a shoot – with a Cosmopolitan.

Standing next to her after a day’s shoot and drinking a Cosmo – I mean, it doesn’t get better than that. Even though we’ve finished filming we still keep in touch. I have her email address and we send messages. Madonna likes to email.

I almost lost an eye when one fight stunt went horribly wrong.

It was pretty horrific and to this day I still can’t believe I got away by centimetres. There is a World War II fight scene in Sucker Punch and this monster hits me with a massive steel bayonet. I ducked as the bayonet swung and I heard this horrible ‘ping, crunch’ sound by my ear. I hit the ground and then I couldn’t stand up properly because I just felt like I was going to faint. I put my hand to my head and it was warm and wet, then I saw the blood; it was dripping down my face. There was absolute silence on the set as everyone watched me, then all of a sudden a scream for medics. What had happened was the very edge of the blade had hit me, just missing my eye and slicing into my head. Unbelievably, the metal grip from the hair extension I was wearing actually saved my head and my eye because it took the force and deflected the blow. It was completely bent. I had so much adrenaline rushing through my body I refused to stop filming or have stitches. I still have the scar.

'I've never been in better shape than when I did Sucker Punch because we had to fight and dance and wear incredibly tiny outfits,' said Abbie

I spent most of my childhood running around naked in the middle of nowhere in Australia.

I had the best time. I’m one of five kids and we lived on a massive farm in New South Wales with my mum and dad. My mum is an artist and very into creative expression and freedom. We were encouraged to run wild; I spent half my time naked because our nearest neighbours were miles away and no one, even with binoculars, could see you.

I learned to drive at the age of 12 and I’m still obsessed with cars.

My dad taught me to drive our old truck and I just used to career around the place. You have so much space, it’s not a big deal. Where I come from kids can drive when they’re ten years old and no one thinks anything of it. I love to drive, I love speed and I love blasting out music and just pelting off on my own. At the moment I am renting a Prius but I am about to buy the car of my dreams – a Cadillac CTS special edition with four doors, not two. It’s a beauty and don’t worry, I have officially passed my driving test.

'Sex scenes are definitely easier than action scenes. I'm pretty unusual for an actress in Hollywood because I am totally unselfconscious about my body,' said Abbie (above with Sam Worthington in Somersault)

I had a very hippy upbringing. My mother wanted us all to be artistic.

She is very into music and we had a room in the house that was dedicated to painting and music. It was called the Rumpus Room. We could paint or we could play instruments and there was every musical instrument in there from a piano, guitar and saxophone to a didgeridoo and full set of drums. I rap and I plan to record some tracks. I also paint when I have time – these are all good things because you need ways of busting off stress and being creative. I had the best mother in the world.

Sex scenes are definitely easier than action scenes.

I’m pretty unusual for an actress in Hollywood because I am totally unselfconscious about my body. I’ve never been in better shape than when I did Sucker Punch because we had to fight and dance and wear incredibly tiny outfits. I lost a ton of weight when I was a junkie in Candy, with Heath Ledger playing my boyfriend. I was incredibly thin. Now I’m a lot more curvy because I’m eating what I want. I like to watch my body go up and down in size for the roles that I play; it’s interesting and I have absolutely no worries about taking my clothes off for love scenes. It doesn’t faze me at all.

'I lost a ton of weight when I was a junkie in Candy, with Heath Ledger playing my boyfriend. I was incredibly thin. Now I'm a lot more curvy because I'm eating what I want,' said Abbie

I got my acting break through modelling pyjamas.

It was modelling for a friend’s mother when I was about 13. I then entered a national modelling competition – and won, and got taken on by an agency in Sydney. I was very up front because I told them I was interested in music, art and acting more than modelling. They just sent me off for auditions and I started to get parts in television shows and then films – that’s how it all really started. You can go for one thing but just always be up front and willing to try other stuff – never give yourself limits.

If everything ended tomorrow I’d try my hand at being a vet.

I’ve always had this back-up plan that I’d study veterinary science. You have to have excellent grades to become a vet so even though I was often  working as an actress, in every spare moment I studied really hard. In school I put my head down and just worked. If I didn’t understand something I would always ask and then I’d work to understand it myself. It did pay off. I got the highest marks in most of my exams and the right grades to get into college. If all else fails,  I still have that option.

Falling in love is like eating cake.

Enough said.

‘Sucker Punch’ is out now on DVD and Blu-ray