Camilla Luddington is Batman. To be clear, not for any film or TV adaptation: she is the real Batman. But I didn’t know that going in to the interview. What I knew was that the 29 year old English actress played Kate Middleton in the Lifetime movie William & Kate, the frightfully sickly story of the meeting of the future King and Queen. She has appeared in long-running US TV dramas ‘Californication’ and ‘True Blood’, and is now playing Jo Wilson, a series regular on the multi-award winning medical drama, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

However, I am a boy – and so was mainly concerned with the fact that she is Lara Croft in the new Tomb Raider game. And like any boy, I wanted to know if she had ever dressed as Lara Croft for her partner in the bedroom. ‘I’ve never been asked,’ she replied and laughed. Her tone made it clear to me that I should move on…

 

FAULT: Do you ever just wear the costume when you’re lazing about the house?

CAMILLA: No!

 

Do you have any kind of perspective about how cool being Lara is?

Yeah, I was very aware how amazing it was. The first people I called after I got the job were my brothers, because I hoped I would finally gain their respect. I’m not sure I did. I was so excited to be immortalised in a videogame, and to take on such an iconic character. Then when I spoke to Crystal Dynamics [the game’s designer] I was even more excited because their vision was just so gritty and dark, and different to how they have been executing it before.

 

Do you ever just walk on to the Grey’s set and say, ‘I’m Lara Croft, I’m fucking awesome. I should be the star of the show’?

Never!

 

Did you go as Lara for Halloween?

I’m not allowed to be seen in a Lara Croft outfit.

 

Noooo! Really?

There’s a ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ episode that just aired on Halloween, where my character is in costume, and there was, for a very brief minute, a discussion about her turning up as Lara Croft. But no, I’m not allowed.

What was it like joining such a well-established show like ‘Grey’s’?

I moved out to the States in 2005, that was when ‘Grey’s’ started airing, and it was one of the first shows I got into living here. I was a huge fan.

 

Are you just saying that? Would you tell me if you didn’t like the show?

Probably not. However, in interviews when I was on ‘Californicatio’n, I would admit that I had not seen the show, then when I saw it, I was like, ‘what have I got myself into?’ But I really, honestly, was into ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. When I was on set for the first time, I went into Meredith’s house, and I remember being like, ‘oh my God, this is where Izzy put the cheque, and oh my God, this is where Jack…’ I really geeked out. I’m kind of a loser.

 

Does being a fan of the show add any pressure to the job?

My first day was nerve-wracking. I remember that I got the script the night before at 8pm, then at 5am the next morning, and I had to do my scenes. The first thing I had to film was just my character Jo, talking to Meredith, and saying, literally, a page of medical dialogue. Just rattling it off. And Meredith doesn’t even interrupt her; she is just staring at me. I remember thinking ‘Oh my god, I’m going to have a breakdown.’ I was sure they would find out that I am terrible at doing anything medical, and that I would just be fired.

 

Who is crazier, is it the Grey’s Anatomy fans, or Tomb Raider fans?

They’re both so passionate, in actually very similar ways. They both really care about the story lines and the characters. I think it was more intimidating taking on Lara Croft, because she is already so iconic. Jo Wilson is something that I kind of got to create myself.

 

Was it your dream to end up in Hollywood?

Yes, always. At five years old I was acting and singing. I was obsessed with movies, and I knew that the movie stars that I was watching, and the movies that I loved, were made in Hollywood; the first movie I loved was The Wizard of Oz, and I guess my mother or father explained to me that it wasn’t real, for whatever reason, but I remember knowing very young that Dorothy was a girl, Judy Garland an actor; and I knew that I wanted to be her [the actor].

 

When did they break the news about Santa Claus to you?

We’re getting deep.

 

I just wondered if they told you about Dorothy and Santa in the same day.

No, it did not happen in the same day. That would have been devastating. I did find out about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy in the same day. It was like a double whammy.

 

Throughout all of this, did you have a nice childhood?

I did. I had a lovely childhood. We didn’t come from a lot of money, so it wasn’t like the fanciest of childhoods, but it was fabulous. We had camping holidays in Cornwall every year. It was lovely. I wouldn’t change anything about it.

 

You seem very well adjusted, and I’m just wondering, is there a darker side to you that no one knows about?

I probably don’t drink eight glasses of water a day. I’m not sure I’m really very dark.

 

Again, are you just saying that? Would you tell me if you did have a darker side?

You know what? I am Batman.

 

This is a scoop! That’s what they call this. Thank you so much!

I know – you’re welcome!

 

Words: Chris Purnell
Images: Courtesy of JSquared Photography (unless otherwise stated)