Imogen Poots has said fellow actor Kristen Stewart "changed her life" by giving her a chance in Stewart's new film as a director, The Chronology of Water.
Poots, best known for 28 Weeks Later and Vivarium, stars in the upcoming drama about a scholarship swimmer who reconciles with her violent and traumatic childhood when she goes to university, finding refuge in literature.
The biographical film, based on Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir of the same name, marks the directorial debut of Stewart, who is best known for starring in The Twilight Saga film franchise alongside Robert Pattinson.
Speaking about Stewart to Tatler Magazine, Poots said: "She could have made that film with a huge star, probably got the finance relatively quickly, but she was loyal to me, which is a very rare thing these days.
"For one woman to give another woman that kind of chance is very cool.
"She changed my life; it's a huge thing."
The pair have since become good friends, with Poots describing their relationship as a "very pure friendship".
She said: "It's hard to speak about because it means so much to me: we didn't really know each other [before filming], but - we've always said this - we feel like we've always known one another.
"We both are very comfortable around each other; it's a very pure friendship."
Poots said she became "obsessed" with swimming, adding that she "loved" learning a new skill and improving her technique for the film.
She said: "If you f*** it up, you're a visual embarrassment, so I was getting lessons from Brazilian and Latvian former child champions and became really obsessed.
"And flip turns - that took a long time because you have to get your feet on the wall in a certain position and do the full rotation. But I loved it.
"As an adult, you're either striving with work or entering motherhood, so to learn a new skill was very healthy."
Poots also stars in the upcoming films All of You, alongside Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein, and the romantic drama Hedda.
The full feature appears in the November issue of Tatler Magazine, out on 2 October.
Source: Press Association
