“He was so polite about it, and there were so many hesitations,” Bonham Carter said. “He said, ‘Would you consider, um, possibly, perhaps — but only if you want to — um, anyway, would you play the Red Queen?’”
“It was like a proposal of marriage,” said the 43-year-old actress. Bonham is routinely misidentified as Burton’s wife. They have two children and have had a nine-year romance together.

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“It’s Wonderland — my character doesn’t really have to make any sense; I can have just as much fun, be just as creative as everyone else, even though I am the queen and the one that’s apparently in charge of everything — but being in charge of a mad world means that you can be nutty, so then I just kind of went nuts,” explains Anne with a laugh.

Helena Bonham Carter fancies a drink. So she orders a double ­espresso. And a glass of fizzy water. And an apple smoothie. She looks rather ­worried when I order just a coffee. “Is that all you want?” she asks gently. Multiple drinking, she explains, is the way to a balanced diet. She admits her theory is not based on pure science.

We are in the cafe just down the road from her north London home. She says she’s got something to show me, and produces a freaky cardboard ­cutout of a little woman with a huge, hydro­encephalised head. “I’ve brought myself. It’s me… in Alice.” Alice In Wonderland is the ­latest movie she has made with her partner, ­director Tim ­Burton. This is their sixth ­collaboration, and ­possibly the grandest ­(it’s certainly the most ­expensive, at an estimated $250m). It’s classic Burton territory – a fairytale world where adulthood is never quite attained, and innocence trails a ghoulish stench. Bonham Carter is playing nasty – a cross between the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts. She holds up her cardboard self and ­addresses it. “She’s got Tourette’s. She just says, ‘Off with their heads!’ all the time.”

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“I’ve rarely had an opportunity to work with the evil family,” he said. “I’m working with Helena Bonham Carter, who’s a lovely lady and also a completely scary witch when she wants to be. I’m enjoying working with adult cast tremendously.”

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1. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp first topped an Empire sexiest poll waaaaay back in 1995, but it appears that age cannot wither his appeal. He has the cheekbones and looks of a matinee idol, but the killer stroke that won everyone’s hearts is the fact that he prefers to play weirdoes and oddballs – and, as Cap’n Jack Sparrow, he’s hilarious too. Long may he reign.

Most alluring as… Cast your mind back to his role as Don Juan De Marco (1994), complete with open white shirt, billowing hair and suggestive hand caresses.

Interests include… Co-owning a restaurant called Man Ray (after the artist) in Paris with Sean Penn and John Malkovich. Although he reputedly once blamed a trashed hotel room on an armadillo that emerged from the wardrobe, went berserk and then jumped out the window, and we like to think that stories like that remain an interest of his.

8. Alan Rickman
It’s good to see that here, amid the chiselled cheekbones and perfectly coiffed heads, is a man who’s sexy because he’s smart, sarky and has a fine line in put-downs. Sure, everyone loves a bad(ish) boy, but Rickman’s rogues’ gallery is united by the fact that they’re all strangely, unjustifiably sexy. Yes, even greasy-haired Snape. And as for his good guys, they’re pretty irresistible.
Most alluring as… For Rickman as a good guy, as deceased cellist Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply (if you haven’t seen it, it’s like Ghost but better). For Rickman as a baddie, it’s gotta be Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Interests include… He’s heavily involved in supporting theatre and lots of theatre causes, and holds a vice-chairmanship of RADA.

9. Helena Bonham Carter
Mrs. Tim Burton may be in her forties now, but she resolutely refuses to be dragged anywhere near ‘mumsy’. In fact, even when she’s shrieking evilly in the Harry Potter series, or conspiring to turn half of London into tasty pies in Sweeney Todd, Bonham Carter is still possessed of a delightful earthy sexiness.
Most alluring as… The, ahem, complicated Marla Singer in Fight Club, the freeze-frame sex scene, in particular, a world away from genteel costume dramas.
Interests include… Despite describing herself as the ‘antichrist of fashion’, Bonham Carter is another actress with her own fashion line. In this case, her collaboration with Samantha Sage, is a delightfully dotty collection called The Pantaloonies.

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