The whole time I am waiting to do the audition again because I was told I would have to audition for him, but it never happened. He just gave me the part.

- Lee Daniels says that you told him things about the character that he had not considered. Do you remember what?

Being a fan of the book, anytime they wanted to do something a little different I would get up on a soapbox, saying, ‘No, you can’t do that because they didn’t do that in the book and we can’t change the book.’

I am anal and got very serious about the character. I have probably told him a lot of things just because there are so many layers to Precious and he just thought because she was big and dark skinned that she had to be a certain way.

But in meeting me, I am big and I have dark skin but I am certainly better than what he thought of me. He thought I would be not so and certainly I changed his idea of who Precious is, based on the way I am.

- What were you thinking during the audition?

It was the scene where Precious meets Ms Weiss for the first time, the social worker, and I was given about three minutes with it. I hadn’t seen the scene beforehand. For the most part if you have a manager and the manager submits you for the role then they will email you the sides to the audition so you can prepare the night before.

But since this was an open casting call I just showed up, no appointment, no nothing. And they had sides available so I was given three minutes with it and I went in and I did it. I remember thinking that it was a complete waste of time.

Billy Hopkins was in the room with his assistant director Jessica Kelly and I wasn’t nervous at all, because I was feeling pretty stupid for having cut class and I was wondering about what I was missing.

That was pretty much all that was on my mind. I wasn’t nervous at all because I didn’t think I had it all; I thought that I had zero chance of actually getting the part.

- There are many layers to character and some very harrowing scenes to film...

I tend to disappear when I am acting as Precious. I am blank, completely, I am just feeling every emotion as Precious would feel it and how she should feel it. I leave my body and I take on this character.

It is such a weird thing to describe because at first you do a certain amount of takes for every scene, sometimes more than others and for each time it is all brand new information and it a real revelation. It never grows cold or dead to me.

- The film’s set in Harlem, where you grew up. Was yours a happy childhood?

I was okay .We were certainly not rich or comfortable or wealthy monetarily and it was a rough neighbour hood but I have never been hurt or fell victim to any societal pressures.

I think really it was quite a normal childhood. I also grew up in Brooklyn in a rough neighbour hood and my parents divorced when I was young. Round there, that is pretty normal.

- Do you have another movie lined up?

No. You can’t believe everything on the Wikipedia. You know that anyone can say anything on that! Roger Ebert was telling me about it. He said, ‘It looks like you’re a Tyler Perry movie next?’ I said ‘No!’ He said you need to Google yourself!’ But anyone can edit Wikipedia!

- Do you worry that because of the attention lavished on the film, your rise is happening too fast?

It worries me because even my manager has never seen it happen like this. I have never been to a class or to an acting school so it is a weird situation and I am confused all the time, but it has certainly fallen into my lap in such a huge way that I have to do something with it. I have to. I owe it to myself.

I love the idea of bringing a person alive who is just on paper and to blow life into that character is amazing. Since doing this press for the film, I have become so gobby. But it is amazing.

Sometimes I am afraid by every bit of good news because I know that this happened this easily and I realize that.

I totally appreciate the fact that this is special and that this doesn’t happen to everyone. I don’t know why this happened to me but I am just ecstatic that is. I know it won’t last either.

- Precious dreams about the red carpet in the movie. How are you finding it?

Red carpets are more fun in the film. Photoshoots are more fun in life. That’s the way you split that. Red carpets. They don’t suck but they are actually more fun to film than to actually do.

Photoshoots are really awesome because sometimes they give you the clothes you are wearing. They give you free shoes and stuff like that!

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire is released in cinemas across the UK on 29th January 2010.

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