Astrid Berges Frisbey
On Stranger Tides comes four years after At World’s End was a huge box office success and takes the franchise in a new direction - as well as introducing movie fans to a whole host of new characters.
And Frisbey, who makes her English speaking movie debut, with On Stranger Tides says that it was this new direction and new characters that drew her to the movie.
“I feel that the movie is really a new beginning to the franchise because you find new characters, and some of them are just amazing; especially Blackbeard.
“For me he is the most revealing character that we have seen before on the frachise because he is the movst human, he is not like Davy Jones, sure he is scary an bad but at the same time he is human.
“Angelica is another new character and she is amazing because we havn’t really seen a true pirate woman before and Penelope is incredible in the movie.”
And the actress takes on another new character in the form of mermaid Syrena who is kidnapped by Blackbeard for her tears.
After almost a decade of Pirates of the Caribbean movies On Stranger Tides introduces mermaids to the franchise for the very first time -but Astrid explains that they are unlike any mermaids that we have seen on film before.
“We also see the mermaids for the first time and they are really mysterious creature and we haven’t had the opportunity to see mermaids like them before. They are more creatures than beautiful women with a fish tail and they are more mysterious.
“The mermaids in the movie are different because they are more like creatures they are more instinctive, they behave more like animals and are really the enemy of the pirates. They are closer to the original myth and legend than they are to the images that we have seen before.”
And while Syrena is held prisoner by Blackbeard and his crew she meets Philip, played by another newcomer Sam Claflin, and together they develop one of the most interesting relationships in the movie.
“Syrena is a little different to the others (mermaids) because during the story she meets Philip who is a really special man, he is a good person; especially in this world of pirates because it is unusual to find someone with such a good heart.
“They find some common point and she learns with him how to trust a man, which is really difficult for her species and it is a challenge for her.
“But I think that this is an interesting point in the story as they learn to trust each other and I think because of Philip she appears a bit more human - and at some point she is even more human than the real humans in the movie.”
And this big budget blockbuster saw the actress work extensively with CGI for the very first time as the developed how she would look.
The mermaid tail was a complete CGI creation and Frisbey reveals that it was a collaboration between many people, including herself, as they decided how she would look and move.
And she admits that this was the part of the filming process that she really enjoyed.
“Well it was quite an experience and you don’t have too many opportunities to work with this kind of technology on a movie.
“It was really interesting because we would discuss how we wanted her to be and they would tell me what it was that they wanted from me. It’s like when you have some stunt things to do and you work with a stunt team, it’s similar but different at the same time.
“You have to create something in your mind that is not there, I had to imagine having a big tail underneath me and how that would feel and how she would move - all the moves in the movie are mine.
“But Rob was the perfect director for this sort of work because he is so physical with the actors and what he wants from them. So we worked together to find the best way that she would move - they wanted her movements to be more animal like - so we all worked together.
“I remember the first time that I watched the movie and saw my tail it was incredible it was like ’oh my god I am a real mermaid’ (laughs). To have the opportunity to develop a character like that was so special. “
Pirates of the Caribbean has been one of the biggest box office successes of 2011 as it grossed in excess of $1billion worldwide - the second movie in the franchise to break that $1billion barrier.
And Frisbey believes that it was all thanks to the Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp and director Rob Marshall as they took their time to develop a good script.
“I think that it is thanks to Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp because they are very passionate about the movie and the franchise and they want to the project to be very ambitious.
“They really waited until they had an amazing script and they waited to find a good story - I think that that was the best solution so they didn’t just make a fourth part.
“I felt that Rob was a director like that also because he took great every detail on set during the entire production of the movie - and I think that when you watch the movie you can really feel that.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is out on Blu-Ray & DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw