Did you have to work hard to get into shape for "Resident Evil"?

I did, there was four weeks of intensive training before we started, and the scenes with the dogs - pretty much my major stunt scene - was done last so I had three and a half months to work on it during my free time.

Did you get hurt at all?

A little, but I dished a little out too. I gave Paul [Anderson, the director] a black eye when we were rehearsing a scene. The thing is I have a really great punch, I connect really well but unfortunately I don't have the best control. So if I punch and someone's standing there I'm probably going to hit them unless they have great reflexes.

This is a European film, yet it gives Hollywood a run for its money. How different do you think it would have been had it been made in America?

If this movie was made in America they would have had a guy and we would have been his harem or entourage. Big studios don't trust that women will bring in that kind of audience, "Tomb Raider" was really an exception to the rule. Most of the time, if you make a big action film there has to be a big action guy in it. It's very European to trust a woman to play that kind of a role.

Your character, Alice, manages to maintain her femininity despite being in this extreme action-packed environment. Was that part of the appeal for you?

I just thought that was a major part of the "Resident Evil" games, and I felt I had to be in this sexy little outfit, because that's what's cool about the game. But we kind of got stuck about how to get me down there in a mini skirt and a tube top, so we settled on an evening dress, that seemed logical and it looked great too. So we did it.