Rosslyn Luke isn’t the type to chase a lane and stay in it. Over the past few years she’s moved quietly but steadily through television and film, through Shrinking, The Rookie, CSI: Vegas, building a body of work that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. That tendency to resist the obvious choice extends to how she picks projects, how she prepares for them, and probably how she ends up in rooms most people don’t expect her to be in.

Paper Tiger is the biggest of those rooms yet. James Gray’s crime drama, bound for Cannes, puts Luke opposite Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller in a story wound tight around loyalty, pressure, and the people who get caught in the middle. She plays Anita, Driver’s girlfriend, someone navigating a dynamic that was already volatile before she arrived.

In person, Luke is good company. She’ll go from talking about poetry to yoga to wandering a museum when a project has her feeling stuck, and none of it feels performed. That same restlessness shows up in how she works. For Paper Tiger she dug into 1980s New York to get a feel for the world surrounding her character. For her upcoming film Hal, she went somewhere harder, researching addiction, talking to people who had lived through it, doing the kind of prep that doesn’t really have a shortcut.

What doesn’t come up unless you ask: before any of this, she was a civil engineer. A full degree, a full-time job, and then a decision to walk away from it entirely and move to Los Angeles. She says it felt right almost immediately.

In this 18 Questions, she talks about creative risk, the actors she studied growing up, and why the work only clicks when she stops getting in her own way.

1. What’s the first thing you usually do when you wake up in the morning?

Try to snooze for 20 more minutes. Then I let my pup Pony lick my face until I can’t stand it anymore and have to get up. Then I walk her and make an americano w/ lots of half and half.

2. What’s one habit that helps you stay grounded when your schedule gets intense?

Journaling. I make myself do a brain dump whenever I feel untethered. If I can journal outside sitting in the sun, even better.

3. When you hit a creative block, what actually helps you move through it?

Taking in art. As a quick fix, that looks like reading some poetry or picking up one of my tried and true creativity books, probably something predictable like The Creative Act. When I have the time and space, I wander a museum. Usually my creative blocks are all about being too up in my head, so if I can allow myself to trust the feelings that come up and just follow creative impulses, that’s key.

4. Are you someone who trusts instinct quickly, or do you like to sit with decisions for a while?

Wow, perfect follow-up question! In life I am very positive and optimistic. That can make me impulsive at times. But when it comes to the big decisions, I like to talk them out with a close friend, that usually helps me find clarity.

5. What’s a small routine that keeps you feeling like yourself, no matter where you are?

When I’m travelling for work, I find a yoga spot nearby, preferably hot, so I have somewhere to go and get into my body and out of my head. A theme, apparently.

6. How do you switch off after a long day on set?

A good glass of red wine and some brainless TV.

7. What kind of roles or stories do you naturally gravitate towards?

Anything with a message I can get behind, bonus points if there’s a bit of grit to it.

8. What’s something people often assume about you that isn’t quite accurate?

I’ve always been quiet, shy as a kid and a bit of an observer as an adult. I think that makes people think I’m very serious. But my fiancé will be the first to tell you what a goofy nerd I am.

9. You started out in civil engineering before moving into acting. What pushed you to make that shift?

Well I was always acting. I got the bug in elementary school and did musical theater through high school. I wanted to pursue an acting degree but fear and “practicality” got the best of me. While I was pursuing my engineering degree in Seattle, I was a D1 collegiate cheerleader, which scratched the performance itch a little bit. But I was also auditioning. I had a local agent and did any training I had time for.

After graduating, I worked full time as a Civil Engineer while auditioning, but it got to a place where I didn’t feel like I was able to give either thing my best shot. So I quit the one that I felt would always be there. And here I am almost 10 years later, acting and producing full time in LA.

10. Was there a moment early on where you felt like you’d made the right decision leaving that path behind?

Honestly as soon as I left my engineering firm, it felt right. I had thought about the decision for a long time and I knew I would never be satisfied if I didn’t give acting my all. I had a certainty that my life was meant to be something different, and while every small win as an actor here in LA has felt great, my personal wins have also helped me feel like my choices were right for me.

11. In Paper Tiger, your character sits right at the centre of a volatile relationship. What drew you to that role?

My character, Anita, is the girlfriend of a recently divorced man, Gary Pearl, played by Adam Driver. She’s a woman newly in love, drawn to this magnetic, larger than life person. It’s a fun headspace to dive into.

12. The film plays with power, desire, and control. How did you approach building a character that disrupts the dynamic rather than just fitting into it?

My first day of filming was the dinner scene, where Gary has brought me into this chaotic family experience. I don’t think fitting into the dynamic would have even been an option. I just did my best to stay true to Anita’s wants and needs.

13. Working alongside Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller is no small thing. What did you take from being on set with them?

They’re all pros for a reason. I could come up with a page of lessons I learned from each person in just that first day of shooting.

14. James Gray is known for emotionally dense, character driven films. What was his direction like in practice?

I absolutely loved working with him. He’s honestly an actor’s dream. He spoke to me in character when giving notes, he spoke in terms of relationships and situation as opposed to outcome, and he encouraged improv to an extent I’ve never experienced. He also really emphasized that it’s a collaboration and we’re a team building something together, which makes it so much fun.

15. The film heads to the Cannes Film Festival. How does it feel knowing your work will be seen on that kind of stage?

I freaked out when I found out. What an honor to be seen on such a prestigious stage. It’s a career achievement I only dreamed of.

16. Your performance is described as destabilising in the best way. What does that mean to you when you’re building a character?

I haven’t heard that! But when I’m building a character, I love research. Because Paper Tiger is set in the 80s, I tried to really immerse myself in 1980s New York culture and politics.

17. Your next film Hal shifts into a real life story. What challenges come with stepping into something grounded in real events?

The character of Tracy was one I took on knowing it would stretch me. Tracy is an addict and a mother trying to break the cycle of addiction in her family, but when we encounter her, she is not yet succeeding. I wanted to be really careful not to portray her as a stereotype, but as a whole human fighting an uphill battle. Again, I tried to do as much research as I could, and I talked to people who have more lived experience than I do.

18. Looking ahead, what kind of roles or collaborations would you say no to at this point and what are you still chasing?

I want to be learning and growing in my career right now, so I think the only types of projects I would turn down are the ones I don’t believe I will grow from. Or of course ones that might go against my basic human values. As for something I’m chasing, the list is endless, but I’d love to do an action comedy, and show off my goofy side as well as my superhero potential.

Follow via @rosslynluke

Photography Roxana Dunlop