ONTD

Gillian Anderson has said she's fed up with sensible roles and wants to play someone silly.

The actress, best known for playing straight-laced Dana Scully in The X-Files, stars as bossy MI7 agent Pamela Thornton in new film Johnny English Reborn.

When asked why she keeps getting cast as authority figures, the star replied:  "I don't know why I keep being cast as everybody's boss because if you saw me in my real life, in my black jeans and my flip-flops running around a playground with my kids I'm very different. I keep being cast in these roles and it cracks me up! That in and of itself is funny enough for me to say, 'Yes, why not, I'll show you!' "

Gillian, who attended the Johnny English sequel's London premiere on Sunday, added: "I would love to play a clumsy person. I would love to fall on my bottom."

The actress also revealed how she got into character to play Miss Havisham in the BBC One reworking of Charles Dickens' classic Great Expectations.

"I read a lot, I did a lot of research. It's different from everything that I do. I just tried to get into her head," she said.

"Just reading everything about Dickens, everything that's been written about the character in the past and reading essays on her, trying not to watch very much because I don't like to be influenced by other things."

She added: "I haven't seen any of it, I'm really looking forward to seeing it."