Last year the south London beauty starred in three films and her latest effort, gritty Brit flick St George’s Day, is released tomorrow. Keeley is now based in the movie hotbed of Los Angeles — where she also misses her time as a favourite in Britain’s No1 newspaper.
During an interview at Sun HQ, Keeley, 25, said: “I miss tea — you can buy it in the States but it just isn’t the same. “I miss my family and friends and I miss walking — no one walks in LA — and I miss beer gardens. “It’s so bizarre being back in these offices. My job here was part of my life. Working for The Sun was a great experience and it was always a fun time. The people here were like a family.”
Keeley was thrust into the limelight in late 2004 when she won our Page 3 Idol contest, her cute good looks and 32F-24-36 figure seeing off competition from hundreds of girls all desperate to grace the most famous page in newspaper history.
She went on to become a household name, David Cameron even hailed her an “environmental hero” for her green campaigning with the paper. But Keeley is now shunning modelling work, choosing instead to focus on her movie career. Not bad for the girl who was a fashion student at Lewisham College before her break with The Sun.
She said: “My life has changed so much since then. “Ever since I was a kid I have lived between fantasy and reality. Acting was perfect for me. “I was obsessed with watching Hook when I was eight and I thought, ‘I want to be part of this’. A family friend recently reminded me that I used to put on all these shows and I said then that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. It took a while to get there.” Last year Keeley appeared in movies Like Crazy, How To Stop Being A Loser and acclaimed short film Queen Of Hearts. She also starred in 2006’s Cashback.
In action thriller St George’s Day she plays on her obvious feminine charms in her role as the girlfriend of a London gangster. Keeley admits she was worried she would not be accepted as an actress because of her modelling background.
She explained: “When you go into acting it is very hard when you have a certain profile for something and you need to then prove yourself in something else. “That is a hard transition. But on the other hand it can be good if you already have a profile when you go up for things. It can help.
“There are a lot of people who have started in modelling and gone into acting.”That is certainly true. Keeley is following the likes of Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Kim Basinger, Lily Cole and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in making the switch from the catwalk to the big screen. And she draws inspiration from Hollywood icons with serious acting pedigree — but has ruled out taking on one of the industry’s most high-profile roles.
She said: “People I really admire are Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Claire Danes and Emily Blunt. “I am open to everything — though I am getting on a bit to play a Bond girl now.” Her latest role sees Keeley going back to her south London roots.
Born in Lewisham before moving with her family to nearby Bromley, playing the character “Peckham Princess” brought back the stark reality of living in one of London’s toughest areas. In the film Keeley swears, wears expensive clothes and helps her man Micky — played by Frank Harper, who also directs the film — to carry out his crimes.
Keeley said: “I started crying on the first page when I was reading the script, not because it is sad but because it was something I was so familiar with.” When pressed, Keeley reveals she got so upset because when she was growing up she met gangster types similar to those portrayed in the film. She added: “If you grow up where I did, you are generally going to meet them, it’s a part of a culture you are going to know.”
Keeley, whose mum Amber was a school dinner lady and dad Roy a locksmith, says she also has experience of the “Peckham Princess” type. Micky describes his girlfriend as the “Queen of the WETs”, which stands for White Estate Trash.
Keeley said: “The Queen of the WETs paints a perfect picture of her. “She is the type of girl you get from south London who grows up on a council estate but who manages to have brand new Christian Louboutin shoes, expensive dresses and who always looks immaculate.
“I knew that kind of character. I know exactly who this girl is.”You are unlikely to find Louboutins on Keeley’s feet. She turned up for the St George’s Day premiere wearing a simple red dress and ankle boots. She explained: “I dress in charity shop clothes.”
Keeley’s move to America has prompted her to have a second crack at education too. As a youngster in secondary school, she used to play truant and struggled with her exams, thanks in no small part to her dyslexia. But over in the US she has gone to drama school and on her blog she has written about reading the works of George Orwell.
In an accent that is now more Duchess of Cambridge than Peckham Princess, she said: “I felt there was a huge part of my life that I had missed out on and it was great to go back to education. “It wasn’t right for me when I was younger. I couldn’t abide by rules and found it restricting.
“Education is extremely important, but I like it on my own terms. “Truancy is a sign of certain problems, but it doesn’t mean someone doesn’t want to learn. “My dyslexia can make things tricky as an actress — I will read something and say something else. “But generally I can overcome these problems, and they say dyslexia makes you more creative.” This positive outlook will stand her in good stead as she looks to make it in Hollywood.