BELFAST TELEGRAPH – Lily James says Richard Madden helps “ground” her and finds him a lot of fun to be around.

The 25-year-old actress stars alongside the British heartthrob in the upcoming live action adaptation of Cinderella, in which she plays the title princess and Richard her prince.

While Lily is pretty lenient when on a job, her co-star is far from it.

“I’d never watched Game of Thrones, but we met, then stayed out and had a late night of drinking and bonding, and going, ‘Wow, this is crazy!’ He was great,” she smiled to ASOS magazine. “I think sometimes I get so flustered and pulled in so many directions, and I’m always like ‘yes, yes, yes’ to everything, but he’s really strong and knows his limits and when to say no. He’s a good support and really grounds me… as well as being a lot of fun!”

It’s always been Lily’s dream to play a princess, and she still thinks they’re great role models for kids as they help little ones learn more about areas such as grief and loss.

The blonde star is busy globetrotting to promote the forthcoming Disney flick and is pleased to have some family members in tow.

“I’ve got my mum and my two brothers coming with me for a lot of it and some other people along the way, too,” she added. “It’s good because my younger brother is like, ‘Lily, I don’t care,’ and my older brother is really interested in it all, so it’s a good balance.”

Lily’s name was launched thanks to her role as Lady Rose MacClare in Downton Abbey. The show even gave her the opportunity to meet Hollywood heavyweight George Clooney when he appeared in a charity episode last year.

She’s often stopped on the street by fans, but it isn’t always for obvious reasons.

“The worst is when you assume they recognise you from your work, when actually it turns out you went to school with them or something!” she giggled.