You won't find a stereotypical damsel in distress in Lily James' latest film "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."
The actress, who sat down with HuffPost Live on Wednesday, said it was "refreshing" to see female characters take charge in the movie, which is on-screen adaptation of the Jane Austen parody novel of the same title.
"I loved the fighting in this, especially because it was all girls. It was the Bennett sisters that do all the bulk of the fighting," she said. "It's like a real feeling of girl power and that we are the ones saving the day and saving the men, and that's really refreshing."
While the women were dressed in proper, early 19th century costumes, they didn't let their corsets get in the way, she added.
"We were in the corsets and look sort of like these gentle girls, and then suddenly, when it got to it, we were like so fierce and like a pack of wolves," James said. "And I think strength is always sexy."
Getting in shape for those tough fight scenes wasn't easy. The British actress told HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani that she endured an "intense" training program in preparation for the role.
"I had just been doing 'Downton Abbey,' where you don't have to exercise at all. You just drink tea and eat biscuits, so I had to get really, really fit," she said. "I had this amazing trainer. He had me pushing a [Smart Car] around a carpark and doing like martial arts and boxing and stuff."
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with Lily James here.
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