Collins was born into show business. The daughter of singing legend Phil Collins, she was always primed for success. Vivacious and sparkling in person, she speaks in an upbeat and confident manner, ever-smiling and gracious, and even asks if I’d like a coffee before starting the interview.
While the 30-year-old’s ascent into the mainstream hasn’t quite been as accelerated as her fathers was when his Genesis band starting making waves at the end of the 1970s, she is a singer and actress who has considerable clout, and who made a breakthrough last year opposite Zac Efron in the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, in a dark crime thriller that told the story of serial killer Ted Bundy,
The film is merely one more creative undertaking for Collins, who has also published her first book, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, which gave way for To The Bone, in which she plays a young woman struggling with anorexia.
“I am at the stage where lots of opportunities come crashing in at once. That’s no bad thing, but it does put the pressure on selecting the right one.”
STRIPLV: It seems like things are really gathering pace now. COLLINS: I guess so. I’ve never wanted to be too greedy or impatient with roles, but I do feel there is lots to look forward to now, and I haven’t always had offers coming left, right and center, so it’s easy when that happens. STRIPLV: Who has had the most significant influence on your career? COLLINS: I would probably say Warren Beatty. He would tell us great stories about old Hollywood. When working with him, he had such a talent to isolate us from our environment and the 21st Century. Warren was a true mentor to me. How many young actors get the chance to have someone so smart and kind and who knows everything about the business spend a lot of time trying to guide you and impart their knowledge to you. When it came to acting, his main advice was to be very present and allow yourself to surprise yourself. That way, you can be true to all the emotions your character is experiencing and allow yourself to be more spontaneous and real rather than acting in the strict sense. STRIPLV: You’re the daughter of a very famous singer and showbusiness personality. How much has that influenced your understanding and passion for the industry? COLLINS: I was raised in a house that was immersed in Hollywood culture and history. My mother is very interested in the history of the film industry, and our house is full of memorabilia. My grandmother was a ballerina during that period, and I studied a lot of her photos and watched a lot of movies of that era to get a feel for how people carried themselves and spoke. There’s something so mysterious and alluring about old Hollywood - I’ve always admired legendary actresses like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, and Lana Turner. I love the way the camera lingered on the actress of that era. You see them take in information and respond to it and how they would, they would allow their characters to reveal themselves to audiences. STRIPLV: Has it been a relief to see that your investment is being realized? COLLINS: Of course! (Laughs) I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. At 15, I was writing stories for magazines, and then by 16, I was aware of the bigger picture. From a young age, I just felt this drive, as if it was meant to happen. STRIPLV: Growing up, did your father sing or read to you at night? COLLINS: I remember he would read stories to me at night, and he loved to imitate different voices for the characters. That inspired me in part to want to act myself. My father also has a great sense of humor. He has taught me a lot about being creative and also being self-critical. That’s helped me to be able to distance myself from my work so that I can judge my work from a balanced and objective perspective. STRIPLV: Has it been important for you to make your mark in the business without relying on your father for help? COLLINS: I’ve made a very conscious effort during my career, not to ask my father for support. I didn’t want that to be a factor in my career. I adore him, and we stay very close, and he’s really my best friend, but I wanted to be able to feel that whatever success I’ve achieved, I earned it on my own. I would never even use my father’s name to get into parties (in Los Angeles). STRIPLV: You’re also noted for your fashion sensibility. What is your favorite kind of fashion? COLLINS: I’ve always loved vintage because my mother was always wearing vintage. I love going to vintage shops and finding old clothes and furniture. I love the sensation of hunting and discovering objects that you rarely see. I don’t get a chance to do that as often as I used to, but when I do, London is the perfect place for that! STRIPLV: Do you look at writing and your work as a journalist (she has written often for Seventeen and Vogue) as something you want to continue doing in addition to your acting career? COLLINS: I love to write, and I still consider journalism to be something that makes me more attentive to the world and a lot of the critical issues we are facing. I’m from a small town, like my father, Phil. And earlier on, when I was more involved in journalism, I developed a keen sense of awareness and interest in politics and culture and so many subjects. There was a time in my life when I wanted to be able to voice my thoughts and deal with a lot of the questions that were very significant to my generation. Wanting to be able to put down in writing my observations on the world is still a major part of my life. I keep a daily journal, and I enjoy noting down my observations and thoughts on what is going on in my life and the world around me. STRIPLV: What do you like to remember about your childhood in England? COLLINS: I was raised in the countryside. I remember that I loved the ballet, something I inherited from my grandmother, and I’ve been doing classical dance for years. I was also fascinated by fairy tales. It was this magical world for me, and I would run in the garden imagining myself to be a fairy and playing with the animals and the elves of the woods. I was convinced that they existed and were around me, and I was always playing alone. STRIPLV: Your life underwent a dramatic change when your parents divorced and you moved from England to Los Angeles when you were a young girl. What are your memories of that time? COLLINS: We moved to Beverly Hills when I was five years old, and what immediately struck me was how different people’s accents were. When I started elementary school, the other kids were constantly kidding and teasing me. That made me want to start speaking with an American accent as fast as possible and started watching one American movie after another and tried to imitate all their expressions and pronunciation. STRIPLV: When did you know that you wanted to be an actress? COLLINS: I always loved watching movies, but it was only when I turned 16 that I decided that acting would be my profession. I was sitting down with my mother one evening, and suddenly I felt it was the right time to tell her what I wanted to do. She was very open and receptive, and soon I began talking to agents and people in the business to get my career going. STRIPLV: What did it mean for you to publish your first book and open up in a profound way about your personal life? COLLINS: I wanted to explore what it’s like to become a young woman. I wanted to expose a lot of the taboos that girls do not like to talk about: the relationships we have with ourselves, with our parents, with the other sex, and with our bodies. As soon as you start discussing these issues and dealing with these feelings, you realize that you’re not alone. I felt very vulnerable and exposed while writing it, but I tried to be honest. STRIPLV: What do you think you’ve learned about yourself over the past few years with the work you’ve done as an actress and your work as a writer? COLLINS: I’ve done a lot of self-reflection and a lot of work on myself. I see myself as a young woman who wants to evolve and learn as much as she can about herself and the world around her. I’ve thought a lot about my relationships that did not work out, and I discovered a lot about myself that I hadn’t really understood or appreciated before. And one thing in particular that I’ve figured out is that everything always happens for a reason.