At just 20 she's got Hollywood at her feet, but Claire Danes has chosen to go back to school. And she's loving every minute of it

" I was so glad it didn't happen to me," laughs Claire Danes of the fate which befell her English Brokedown Palace co-star Kate Beckinsale. "We were both standing there on set in front of a whole crowd of extras and we were both wearing sarongs - her's fell down! Apart from that, the shoot went really smoothly, but it was pretty intense. I was glad when I got home."

Sitting in a comfortable hotel suite in Los Angeles, looking gorgeous in a powder blue top and jeans, she's glad the real-life events that inspired the film didn't befall her, either. Based on the true story of British teenagers Karyn Smith, Patricia Cahill and others, who were duped into smuggling herion in Thailand and subsequently imprisoned, Brokedown Palace makes the girls American but relates much the same series of events. Claire was also glad to get home for another reason. While filming in the Philippines she made some comments about the country which were taken out of context and repeated in a derogatory tone never intended.

Home these days is either the New York loft she bought last year or the campus of prestigious Ivy League university Yale, where she recently started her second year of studies.

"It's going really well. Oh, I need a Diet Coke. Is that OK?" Claire is sweetly polite. She grabs her drink and continues talking. "Yale is a really healthy environment for me to be in. It's fascinating to learn about academia. I thought I'd seen as much ambition and drive as there is to be seen in Hollywood, but that's obliterated by the students at Yale. People are very intense about their work, very serious, and that's surprised me. I had no idea."

Claire's life these days is similar to that of a TV star who can only make movies during the show's hiatuses - she can only make films during university holidays. "I'm only able to maintain my sanity by compartmentalizing the two things. It's when they both start to converge that I start to feel very fractured and schizophrenic," she says. Are her fellow students intimidated by her fame? "I think some are, yes, but they're completely disillusioned once they meet me and it becomes a non-issue pretty quickly. It's people on the periphery who seem to have trouble relating to me, maybe because they've bought into the myth that you've created." She notices the puzzled look on my face and laughs. "No, I mean that the press has created."

She tries not to think too much about putting people at ease. "I really can't, otherwise I'd go insane. I just have to be, to live my life and hope they understand I'm a student just like they are. In the beginning I think some people thought I wasn't intelligent enough to be there, but once I opened my mouth in class they realized I do have a brain. And anyone who thinks otherwise can go to hell anyway!"

American universities work differently to universities in the UK. Students don't specialize in any one subject straight away, but take a variety of courses before choosing a major. Claire is undecided what she'll major in when she has to face that decision.

"I'm taking a really electric group of classes at the moment. I thought I was going to major in English, but that may have been because I had a slight crush on my professor! He's not around this year so I'm straying from that idea. I really like visual art. And I really love the course I'm taking called Modernism In The City. I'm also doing graphic design, which is my favourite, plus adolescent psychology and women's health, which is surprisingly boring. Then there's computer science in the modern intellectual agenda." The face she pulls suggests this isn't her favorite.

making time for love

It doesn't sound like she can have much time left for a personal life. "It's true, I really have to kick and scream in order to create one or just to protect my social life. The trouble is, Yale is so demanding that nearly everyone in entrenched in their work all the time. Fortunately, I've made some good friends, wonderful people. My friend Maya from uni is here with me in LA.

"It's her first time here and were were invited to a party at Playboy Mansion. It just seemed so absurd. We arrived, we dumped our bags at the Chateau Marmont Hotel, then we raced off to the party. We had so much fun. I like being in LA and in the Hollywood community, if there is such a thing. I feel very comfortable here." She puts her legs up on the sofa and takes a slurp of her drink.

Claire is placing an inordinate amount of pressure on herself at a very young age and the way she speaks and conducts herself fools you into thinking she's well into her twenties. In face, she's still only 20.

"I do push myself, but I think I've been doing it less as I've grown up. I realize pushing myself too hard can be more damaging than productive or healthy. I think I push myself largely out of fear, which is something I want to avoid in the future," she explains.

What does she have to be afraid of? "Oh, the same things as everyone else my age. I don't think I'm any more anxious than anyone else, but the unknown is always a bit frightening. But you can't obsess over it."

You wonder when she finds the time for her boyfriend, Aussie rocker Ben Lee. "Oh, he's just fine," she says, grinning a madly-in-love sort of grin. "He's doing really well. He's going through a major transformation too. His record was released here in America and in Australia. It went gold and got great reviews. He may very well surpass me in terms of star status. He's so amazing. I love him."

So, is he used to her celebrity? "Oh, I think so. He's tasted a morsel of it himself anyway, but he's very flexible, very generous and very patient. When we're in Australia it's pretty crazy because we're both well-known there."

Few actresses have the power Claire has - that is, the power to have a film 'greenlit' (put into production) as soon as her name is attached to it. Is it strange having such clout at such a precocious age? "Oh, well that's such a luxury for me. It's such a gift just to be able to decide what work you want to tackle. I get to experiment with all different kinds of storytelling and different directors, but at the end of the day my desire to make a particular film is always very personal."

Despite being very much top of the heap for her age group of actors, Claire's inevitably grouped with teenage actors. Does she resent being mentioned in the same breath as people who have not even half her experience and none of her talent? "No, of coarse I don't take offence. It's fine. It's the nature of the buisness. People a constantly trying to assess where you're at, to categorize and define you. You just have to ignore it because every single person has a different opinion and perspective on a film, but it's hard to resist looking. I mean, I know I've liked a lot of films that have really repulsed other people."

the competition

Claire has set high standards for herself. For example, few so-called teen films have the intelligence, maturity and style of Romeo and Juliet, the film that co-starred Leonardo DiCaprio. "Well, yes, I do think that way sometimes. I mean, did you see Cruel Intentions?" She's professional enough not to elaborate. "It just wasn't based in reality. It was a fantasy and I'm so not interested in telling those kinds of stories."

Do the very adult pressures put on her ever get too much? "Oh yes, I just go for the bottle sometimes. No, I'm kidding! Sometimes there's a bit of pressure and I've only recently become an adult and started to deal with the responsibilities grown-ups face. But I'm developing a system to cope with it. I've got a comfortable home in New York. I've got a boyfriend I've been with for two and a half years. I've a great relationship with my family and friends I really trust and love. So I'd say that's a pretty good place to start. Wouldn't you?"

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