Sienna Guillory: Model, actress and guardian

The brave and beautiful actress Sienna Guillory plays Arya, an Elven princess who is the guardian of a magical stone which hatches into a baby dragon (Saphira - voiced by Rachel Weisz). Strong and independent, Arya is a warrior princess and she is an integral part of Eragon's (Ed Speleers) fight to save the empire.

Guillory was born in London and is the daughter of the late Cuban guitarist Isaac Guillory. An accomplished talent on both sides of the Atlantic her credits include Love Actually, The Time Machine, Resident Evil: Apocalypse as well as the lead in the TV production Helen of Troy.

Q: What did you enjoy about the film?

A: It was amazing how real Saphira is and how real that relationship between her and Eragon is. It's wonderful seeing how capricious she is and the awkwardness of her and things I'd omitted to imagine when I was dreaming up my dragon. It's a rich experience and an exciting experience as well.

Q: Do you believe in destiny and fate?

A: I think you can shape your own fate. You have to believe that everything you do can make a difference. You have to believe you can improve, that you can help people and that you can be a better person.

Q: Why do you always seem to get roles in action adventure movies?

A: I think because maybe other roles are easier to cast with other actors who are already established. I didn't fall in love with Eragon because it was an action adventure movie; I fell in love with the story because it's full of hope and the idea of sacrificing yourself for your dreams and being brave and working together with people because of a common cause. It's an inspiring story and the relationship between the boy and the dragon is so beautiful.

Q: Can you talk about the relationship with Saphira?

A: Arya is the guardian of the egg and for as long as she can remember she's been going around on this horse protecting the egg. I think she has a maternal feeling towards the egg and I think it's all very symbolic in many ways.

Q: You said that an actor's work is hard and life is hard. How about models?

A: It all depends on how successful you are. As an actor, you're only as good as the roles that you win. If you're not working, nobody wants to know. With modeling, you're the flavour of the month or you're not. It can be as easy or as hard as your situation like with any job.

The greatest adventure flies high when ERAGON opens this January 8 in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.