Talking Shop: Juliette Binoche

Binoche plays a former secret service agent in her latest film

One of France's most acclaimed and elegant actresses, Juliette Binoche, has combined a prolific career in her native country with high-profile Hollywood roles.

She won an Oscar and a Bafta for her role in The English Patient and was nominated for both awards for romantic comedy Chocolat.

Recently she played a Bosnian mother in Breaking and Entering and a bereaved widow in Paris Je T'Aime, while next year will see her at the National Theatre in London in a collaboration with choreographer Akram Khan.

We caught up with her to discuss her role in A Few Days in September - a political thriller directed by her current partner, Argentinean film-maker Santiago Amigorena.

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Who do you play in A Few Days in September?

I play Irene, a former secret agent who puts herself back into service to help a friend reunite with his daughter in the days leading up to 9/11. It was a situation I found very complex and interesting to play and explore.

What research did you do to prepare for the role?

The film's action begins in Paris before moving to Venice (pictured)

I was keen on trying to find a way to have and hold secrets, so I tried to find a secret agent. I got to meet one, and he turned out to be my neighbour! I'd always sensed there was something there, but I could never put my finger on it. He was so efficient the French government tried to kill him and he had to move to Luxembourg.

Your character speaks Arabic during the course of the film. How hard did you find it to learn?

It was part of the work. But the language isn't important; you have to play the action that is behind the words. It's not the acting, it's the being. Otherwise it's just about the style and it becomes kind of stiff.

How hard do you find promoting your work?

It can be hard to do press junkets, where you only have two or three minutes to talk about a movie. It's sometimes inhuman, especially at the end of the day when you have gone through 17 different interviews. But to be in the world like this you must also embrace the consequences.

What do you personally get out of it, though?

Binoche was Oscar nominated for the 2000 comedy Chocolat

You should never lose track of the purpose of it, which is to make a bridge to the world. The experience of watching a film you've made with an audience is so strong, it virtually makes sense of why you're doing it. It's such a beautiful purpose that it's okay for me to spend a day walking in heels, or put on a nice gown for a premiere.

You worked with your partner on A Few Days in September. Is it easier to be directed by someone you know closely, or have worked with before?

I wouldn't say that. There's a complicity, but easier wouldn't be the word. There are rewards that come with it; when a director asks you to work with him again you feel loved and reassured.

But on the set you have to be renewed, for each scene and each take. It takes courage to go into the scene and that is between you and yourself.

Even though you're being directed by someone you know and love, the loneliness you need to have as an actor is still there. You have to have that moment of stillness and silence inside you; otherwise the truth of it doesn't come out.

Juliette Binoche was speaking to BBC News entertainment reporter Neil Smith. A Few Days in September is out now in the UK.