Les Miserables' Samantha Barks on Her Awards Season Starstruck Moments, Her Favorite TV Shows and Why Marius Isn't Actually a Jerk, Dating-wise

I feel like we've heard so much about everyone depriving themselves of food and water on the set of Les Mis. Did you get to have any fun?

It was an intense period, to be honest. Eponine is this character I feel so close to and I really wanted to do her justice. You have to try to unwind when someone yells "Cut!" at the end of the day, but it's easier said than done. Everyone was very good—no one was really going out and drinking. But no one resented the fact that they couldn't party—the satisfaction we got from being on that set beat any crazy night out.

Thankfully, you got to make up for it once awards season rolled around. What were your favorite famous-person run-ins?

So [when awards season kicked off], I arrived on the plane and got straight into a car, did my makeup and hair, and threw on a different outfit. I was very jet-lagged. I get to this party and the first person I saw was Catherine Zeta-Jones. Growing up, I wanted to be her—in Zorro, in Chicago, I just adored everything she did. She's so beautiful and talented. So I was like, right, OK—that absolutely made my day.

So that's like, five minutes into awards season. Not bad.

And then the next person I see is John Travolta. I was like, "Danny Zuko? You're kidding me!" I used to watch Grease every single weekend without fail. I never got tired of it. Then I saw Barbra Streisand and was in the hallway talking to her about the L.A. weather. That was a proper pinch-me moment.

Just talking about the weather with Babs!

It was better than any dream I've ever had. Oh! Then I saw Jason Bateman.

He's so cute.

He's hilarious! And I watch Arrested Development religiously. I love it. So all these people from my list of 10 people that I would freak out if I saw were all in the same room. And they were all really lovely.

It's insane to think of how you were thrown into this. I have to ask: Do you remember where you were when you watched the Oscars last year?

I remember watching it with my sister—I always get really excited to see people's frocks. My sister said, "You'll be there one day." I laughed it off: "Yeah, right." And then next year, I was there—and I got to take her with me.

I love that! You guys must have had the best time.

It was the most incredible experience, sharing that moment with her. Getting ready for the red carpet—it was like getting ready when we were teenagers again, but we were going to the Oscars.

So now that this dream of an awards season is all over, what's next?

At the moment I'm shooting a lovely British period Christmas movie called The Christmas Candle down here in the Cotswolds, in England. Having done Les Mis, I've got the taste for film, but musicals will always be my first love. My goal is to have a varied career—I look to people like Hugh Jackman and Meryl Streep for inspiration. They didn't confine themselves.

Speaking of inspiration, what have you been watching lately that you love—on TV and at the movies?

I'm loving New Girl right now. And I thought Silver Linings Playbook was such an interesting love story.

Since you're the expert—what new musical is gonna end up being a total classic?

Matilda! It's wonderfully written, and the way it captures Roald Dahl's quirkiness is brilliant. And I loved Once. I'm telling everyone to go see it.

So, my love was solidified around the time she said "proper pinch-me moment." And yours? Follow Samantha on Twitter here.

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