The 49-year-old actress plays a Russian woman who marries into a rich Italian family in I Am Love. The entire film is in Italian and Russian, meaning Tilda had to have a firm grasp of both languages to make her role believable.

She was expecting to make the most progress with Italian, because she already spoke a little bit of it, and was surprised when she found she was much better at Russian.

"My Italian going into the project was interior, shall we say," she told Cover Media. "I was always, and still am to a certain extent, one of those lazy people who spends a lot of time with Italian friends and yet constantly says `I don`t speak Italian`.

"Things slow down when I start speaking Italian. By comparison, My Russian is better, I have to say. Much better than my Italian."

I Am Love opens in cinemas on April 9. It is directed by Luca Guadagnino.
sections: Celebrities