Richelle Mead's bestselling book series Vampire Academy comes to the big screen with Lucy Fry, Zoey Deutch, Dominic Sherwood, and Danila Kozlovsky in starring roles. The series is set at a school for Moroi (mortal, peaceful Vampires) and Dhampirs (half-vampire/half-human guardians) where the Dhampirs learn to protect the Moroi as well as handle all the normal drama of high school. Fry plays Lissa Dragomir, a Moroi princess whose family was killed in a tragic accident and who has greatness in her future.

Vampire Academy hits theaters on February 7, 2014 and in support of its theatrical debut, I had the opportunity to talk to Lucy Fry about tackling the role of Lissa, playing a vampire princess, and the fans of the books.

Exclusive Lucy Fry Interview:

You are not just playing a vampire, you're playing a vampire princess. How did you channel your inner princess?

"I grew up with whenever I was being like a little bit spoiled, my mom would be like, 'Lucy, stop being such a princess!' I think my inner princess kind of got squashed. But then there’s a part of every girl that … what I like about Lissa is that she’s a true princess in that she doesn’t care for the title and she thinks of the title as a burden, in the same way that it was a burden for me with my mommy. [Laughing]  Rather than valuing the title of a princess, Lissa's mom - and my mom I guess - would make you just make Lissa and Lucy learn to be good people. I think that’s what a true princess is is like a true fairy tale princesses has a good heart, and that’s what both strive for and have to overcome a lot of things in order to find."

When you got the script initially did you worry about the idea of being a part of a 'vampire' project or were you immediately accepting of the genre?

"I guess that when I first got the script I started reading it and instantly it didn’t feel like a vampire film. The script kind begins by introducing you into this world where it’s like the rules are different even of the vampire world, like the Moroi and the Dhampir and the Strigoi, and the tone is different. It’s just got this really comedic tone and then all of this action and mystery that kind of juxtaposes it. From the very beginning, I was like, 'I’ve never read a script that's anything like this.'"

Were you concerned that the action, humor, romance, and drama wouldn’t necessary translate from page to screen?

"As soon as I read that Mark Waters was directing it I was like, 'Well, it can’t really go wrong.' He has such an amazing attention to detail and after doing Mean Girls it’s like there’s no way that the comedy’s going to go wrong because he knows how to do that inside out. And also with Daniel Waters who the script, the fact that he wrote Heathers it kind of made sense to me the tone of it in that it's playful and young and quirky but also has a hint of darkness, but in a really offbeat kind of way. For Mark and Dan to be working together, it was the perfect team because they can bounce off each other and all of the ideas between them are really clear. And because they are brothers, they can fight about it and let it all be out in the open.  I knew that if any team could make this really brave combination of things work, it’s Mark and Dan."

Did they seem to get along when they were both on the set? Did you notice any sibling rivalry?

[Laughing] "No, they love each other so much, but of course they are brothers. It’s natural. You have to. You’re not in a sibling relationship unless you can fight it out. But no, it was never an actual fight. They would just be brothers."

Did you read the books before you saw the script?

"Not before I saw the scripts but before we filmed.  I read the first book about five times."

Was it hard for you to figure out how to show Lissa's special powers?

"Yes. Yes, it was.  I did a lot of physical work with the powers to try and come to the place where I could feel how they manifested in my body, of like the light and the high of healing and the excitement of using compulsion but then also the toxic effect that the use of the powers had on myself. It's almost like every time she uses her powers she gives up a part of herself and gets poisoned by it. So to get into that spiral that she goes on as she sort of grows a little bit crazy when she’s using her powers to protect herself and Rose, that was really interesting. It took a lot of physical work in order to find an honest place of playing that."

Was it more difficult doing that you expected it to be?

"No, it was actually easier. I think because I had done so much physical work before we went and started filming that by the time we got there, I knew how it was real for me. Then I could translate that into the more contained space of the film set. Because when I was practicing it, I was being really extreme, running around, powers and doing all of this wild stuff. To sort of pull it back and find the honesty of it in a scene was really fun, actually."

Did it take much convincing to sign up for a series of films? Do you like to play the same character more than one time?

"When I read the book and saw what a detailed and complex and beautiful character Lissa is, I just fell in love and I would love to take her the whole way through because she has an amazing journey. Even within the first book she has a huge arc and for the rest of the script she goes through an amazing, amazing journey. That’s a treat as an actress to get to play a part that’s so dynamic and so rich and so powerful, literally. Yeah, I would love to take her the whole way through."

Was there anything specific that author Richelle Mead told you about getting into the character?

"No. We only met Richelle about halfway through filming but I read her book which is, I guess, her whole mind and perspective of the character. I read it so many times that I read between the lines and everything. Mark once said to me once before we started filming, he was like, 'Lucy, just stop working so hard. You can chill.'"

Do you feel kind of possessive of her now?

"No, I don’t. I love actually that the fans have different ideas and perspectives of Lissa. That makes it really interesting because to me I feel like I know her really well. I feel her. I understand her and I’m hoping that the fans enjoy her. But I don’t feel possessive because I like everyone to have their ideas and be passionate about it, but I just have huge empathy for her.  It was weird. We did the scene where we were filming the car crash where her family died and this was sort of towards the end a bit more and I’d gotten to know her really well. I'd done all of these scenes where I’m sort of just carrying the weight of the loss of her family, and in this scene I just couldn’t stop crying. I was hysterical. My face wasn’t in shot. It had nothing to do with needing to do that for the scene.  I was just laying on the ground like kind of dead looking and I’m crawling towards the car, and I just felt Lissa so much that I was really deeply affected by it. I thought that was kind of a little bit scary."

You might have to get a little therapy after playing Lissa.

[Laughing]  "Yeah, I know. It’s like I need to learn to detach."

The fans are so passionate about the book series. Have you had any encounters yet where you've talked to fans?

"Yeah, on the press tour we’ve met some people who have been really excited and that just feels me with joy that we can share something with people who really genuinely care about this. And it’s great that the books have been such a huge part of so many people’s lives. They’ve helped a lot of young women get through things like high school. They are really empowering for young women and I hope that the movies can take it to a broader audience and help a lot of women find their power."

What was your reaction to seeing yourself with fangs the first time?

"When I saw myself with the fangs I just thought it was really cool. I’ve always wanted fangs. [Laughing] Who wouldn’t want fangs?"

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More from the Vampire Academy cast, director and author:  Dominic Sherwood Interview / Richelle Mead Interview / Zoey Deutch Interview / Director Mark Waters Interview