Joy Bryant is one of Hollywood's promising new talents. She started out as a model, securing her first acting job in a TV movie intriguingly titled Carmen: A Hip Hopera. She wasted no time making that leap to the big screen, next appearing in cop comedy "Showtime", and now in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, "Antwone Fisher".

What drew to you to this story?

I personally know people who've been through something similar so it really touched me, and that's what drew me to it. It's important for people to see this film and for kids who are going through what Antwone went through to see that you can come out ahead. This movie is about the triumph of the spirit and about survival. Antwone survived and it's important for everybody to see this movie and to get hope from that. If you have hope, you can overcome anything, no matter how hard it is. That's the big message of this film.

How about Denzel as a director?

Oh, he's incredible. He's incredible. I love him. It was just like a big acting class and learning from the master. It doesn't get better than that.

How specifically did he help you get into the role?

He asks you a lot of questions for you to answer yourself. He would give us questions to answer and the running theme of the whole movie was just to be and not act. He kept telling us to be truthful and honest and be fully prepared and know what your character eats and drinks and how they sleep and everything. He just kept that truthfulness going. He would just keep saying, "Just be real." It was amazing.

How about you and Derek? How did you work on that relationship between your two characters?

We spent a lot of time together just as Derek and Joy. We went shopping together. We got to know each other and by doing that it just started to resonate naturally. And by working together a lot, you can see the chemistry that developed.

"Antwone Fisher" opens in UK cinemas on Friday 16th May 2003.