Downton Abbey may be behind her, but Lily James isn't done just yet with period costumes, country estates or the staid British social structure of yesteryear. Only with her latest effort, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, there's an extra undead element to add some excitement. And James is a big fan of excitement. She stars as Jane Austen's classic heroine Elizabeth Bennet, only with some deadly Shaolin training—which is just what a young lady of good standing needs during a zombie apocalypse. Myspace chatted with James about the film, learning fight choreography and how she would fare in a real zombie apocalypse. 

When you thought about someday doing a Jane Austen film, I take it this was not exactly what you had in mind?

No, it was not. [laughs] But I have to say, I would rather do it like this. It's been done so well so many times, so I think the only way to do it now is definitely with zombies. 

This project had been around for a bit. How familiar with it were you? 

Yeah, the project had been around for a long time. I think Natalie Portman, who is producing now, was originally going to do it. I'd never heard of it, weirdly. I don't know if I live in a bubble, but I'd never heard of it. But I love Jane Austen's book, and I think English people, we learn that at school before we can even speak. Yeah, but I read the script first and just thought, How is this good? How is this so brilliant? And then I read the book and was equally drawn in. He somehow manages to keep the wit and the crucial parts of the story so alive and really true to Jane Austen, and then he adds this alternate universe, which somehow enriches it. 

What other literary classics do you think could be improved with some sort of supernatural element? 

I think Downton Abbey could do with some zombies. [laughs] I just filmed a BBC adaptation of War and Peace and played Natasha, which was pretty full-on. I don't know if that story can take any more violence, though. I think it's got enough. There's enough war going on. That would be maybe one step too many. 

For Downton Abbey, do you think the upstairs or the downstairs should get the zombification? 

Oh, let's get the upstairs zombies, man. Seriously, enough already. [laughs] 

How did you find you took to the fight choreography?  

It was really challenging but we did months of training, all the girls together. I had this trainer who was amazing, and he really put me through my paces. I'd come from a place where I really hadn't done much exercise in a long time, so I basically was brutalized and sore. [laughs] But I did a lot of boxing and a lot of getting my arm strength up so I could believably wield an ax and a sword. My fighting style was very fluid, a lot of that sort of martial arts influence. In a way it was quite balletic, and I love dancing. I loved doing the action, and the stunt coordinator was absolutely amazing. This isn't a huge-budget film, but still I think they've managed to pull off these fights with such gusto. There's an amazing fight scene between Wickham and Darcy that's just incredible. 

Did that inspire you to keep up with any exercise? Are you now kicking ass on a regular basis? 

I'm kicking ass on a regular basis, but not so much through fighting. Maybe just shouting. [laughs] I have to say, I'm pretty lazy. I think it's because I work out so intensely for a certain role, and then I stop and I just feel like sitting down and just doing absolutely nothing for a while. So I'm in that phase, at the moment.

Are you looking for more roles that would challenge you in that way? 

Yeah, I would actually—and I never knew this starting out, but I would love to do action films. I find that it helps me with my acting, too, because you're not concentrating on how you sound or what you're saying. You've got something to distract you, and I find that really liberating. And I actually think I'm quite good at it. I can learn the fights, and I'm quite physical. So I would love to play a superhero or do some sort of action movie. 

So how do you think you'd actually fare in a zombie-filled environment? 

Well, I mean, I think I would do really well now. Right now I'd take off my shoe, my Louboutin, and I'd get the heel right in the zombie's eye. That would go right through to the brain and I'd be good. That would be my plan. Or I'd hide under the table and let someone else deal with it. [laughs]