Shopping bag.

It’s approaching midday on a sunny Thursday in a busy, buzzy Notting Hill dining establishment. The brunching set are in full flow, rolling languorously from AM to PM in a laid-back mixture of prim dresses and pressed juices. When Josephine de la Baume enters though, it sends the subtlest of ripples across the room.

The French actor is not quite at that level of fame where people would sit up and contemplate an ill-advised selfie attempt; she does however possess that ineffable energy and self-assurance that characterise the best of her profession… Not to mention her deeply personal approach to fashion that has seen her hailed as a true style icon by those who declare that sort of thing. It’s equal parts instinctive and irreverent: rock ’n’ roll as a mindset rather than a collection of guitar and drum sounds; eclectic in the way she folds designer garms from across the spectrum into a light-as-air sense of bohemia. In short, she possesses the star qualities that manage to transcend the exhaustive, channel-hopping whirlwind she currently finds herself caught up in whilst promoting her new film, Road Games.

It is while discussing this latest role that one begins to get a sense of just how devoted Josephine is to the craft of acting. It is a passion that has been with her since her creative pursuits blossomed during a Parisian adolescence, jostling for (and for the time being, just about winning) pole position amidst Josephine’s musical and writing ambitions. Road Games is a British-French co-production that begins with Josephine’s Véronique drifting through the sun-kissed French countryside with English companion Jack (Andrew Simpson). Things inevitably take a turn for the worse when they accept a ride from a local weirdo (played to unnerving perfection by the iconic French actor Frédéric Pierrot). The film combines the pulse-quickening effects of a Hitchcock thriller with an almost Lynch-like look at the underbelly of a supposedly idyllic setting.

“I prefer playing drama because it requires more depth and more research,” says Josephine. “It’s more challenging.” She pauses for a second, perhaps contemplating the varied roles she has turned her hand to in the past. “There are still interesting parts in comedy and uninteresting parts in drama… It’s just that in drama there is often a lot of layers to the character.”