Clara McGregor knows good cinema; she’s grown up with good films, she’s studied them, and now, she’s beginning to star in them.

“Growing up my parents would show me great films – I’d watch Charlie Chaplin, It’s a Wonderful Life, Harvey, The 400 Blows and a lot of French Cinema as well,” she explains. “I fell in love with film then, but even more so after visiting my father at work and seeing how it all happens. I was in awe on movie sets and always knew I had to end up on one.”

Fresh from the throes of an NYU education – during which, of course, she majored in Cinema Studies –  Clara has been busy transferring the skills she picked up in college into her lifelong passion for acting. Most recently she’s had roles in two feature films: Cicada and Ryan McDonough’s Groove. “They were both such wonderful experiences,” she tells me. “I think it really cemented the fact that I want to make movies and be a part of them even more. I didn’t want to leave work.”

“I loved playing Riley in Cicada,” she continues. “It was such a touching, beautiful script by Matt Fifer and getting the opportunity to explore her was amazing. I think with features, you obviously spend a lot more time with your character – you have more room to evolve”.

Having already lived in London, France and Australia before her current home of New York, Clara is both familiar and unfazed with the often exhausting push and pull that is typical of her profession. “I like to be challenged. I love roles where the character is someone very different to me or what I know because I get the opportunity to become and explore someone else,” the 22-year-old explains. “I’d love to do roles that show and represent women of all walks of life who have had their own experiences. I want more stories about women.”

And who better to write them than herself? McGregor doesn’t just star in front of the camera lens, she plays a role in the writing process too.  “I write a lot of personal essays,” she says of her experience thus far. “I take from my personal experiences and add to them. I’m lucky to have wonderfully interesting friends and family that inspire me.”

Another of McGregor’s stripes is her modelling career, a role that she sees as intrinsic to her work as an actress. “I’ve found that more and more art and film is seeping into the fashion world with how designers are choosing to advertise their brand – short films instead of commercials, et cetera. Both involve still and moving images and endless room for creativity and expression.”

McGregor keeps relatively coy about her plans for the future – in fairness, it sounds like she already has enough on her plate to keep her going for the time being. “I want to focus on acting, on creating and writing,” she offers. “I’d love to be in more films and TV shows and really pursue good work. I also want to keep working on my craft, continue studying and getting as good as I can be. Who knows what the future holds…”