In 2012, Olivia Cooke appeared in the One Direction “Autumn Term” tour video, playing a student who gets a piggyback ride from Harry Styles. One might think the then 19-year-old would have received a lot of street cred for her role, but the actress says none of her friends even knew who the band was at the time. But while One Direction broke up in 2016, it was Cooke’s career’s turn to take off – first with the BBC in the series Blackout and then on A&E’s Psycho prequel Bates Motel. The Manchester native was on an artistic roll, which in just a few short years had her appearing in the Oscar-nominated Best Picture Sound of Metal and now starring in the gangster comedy Pixie.

You’ve been in a wide range of films including Me, Earl and the Dying Girl, Ready Player One, Sound of Metal and now Pixie. In each film, you seem like a totally different actor. What’s your secret?

Oh good. That must mean I am doing something right.

What I loved about Pixie, is it took the gangster genre, added subversive comedy and showed you should never underestimate the power of a woman.

That is the moral of life. Don’t underestimate the power of a woman. I just loved that. Usually, this genre is dedicated to men and we only really had only one female character in this film. We could have used a few more. But it was fun to take the men and lead them on a wild goose chase.

Do you think you have been underestimated in your own life?

Maybe but I haven’t really thought about it that much. I have underestimated myself. I probably don’t take into account other people’s view of me. Maybe they just hate me so that is the underestimation.

Most gangster films have excessive violence but not in this case.

It actually borders the line of camp, which I love. Everything is done with a wink, very tongue and cheek. You don’t really see bodies being brutalized.

You, Ben and Daryl are almost like the Three Musketeers on this road adventure. What kind of bonding experience did you have?

It was so fun and the chemistry was pretty instant. We didn’t have to do any team-building exercises. The fun of the set and script was infectious. We just took Belfast by storm. That rapport even continued after work for the two months we shot.

This film really inverts the male gaze of so many typical movies. Talk a little about that.

There was no spontaneity. I loved reading that scene because there was this great nod to Y Tu Mamá También. Pixie is so curious about these two guys and their relationship and why they are so close. She lets that kiss linger and thinks, “this is fantastic.’ I was in control because I had the next line so they had to wait till I talked before they could stop kissing!

Pixie is an artist and wants to go to art school. What is your own relationship to art?

Not that great. Back in school maybe when I was 14, I could have gone down that path. I was quite good at it but I never honed that skill. It is something I would love to develop more and take some art and photography classes.

Pixie yearns to go to San Francisco to reinvent herself. Growing up in Manchester, what places do you dream about going to?

London and New York. I was lucky because I did move to New York when I was 21 and lived there for four years and then last year, I moved to London. The vibes of both cities are so different and seeing how you fit within that at different stages of your life. Who knows where I will be for the next four years?

Pixie had great self-confidence and really believed in herself. At what point in your life did you feel you found your voice to speak up?

I think it only really happened in the last few years as I got into my mid-twenties I found ownership and autonomy. Before that, I went with the flow and let people guide me, not trusting my gut. As a kid, you are so in tune with your gut and how it makes you feel. I am trying to reconnect to that.