Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey Reveals How She Connects Pirate Of The Caribbean To The Vault - Exclusive

Ask Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey what makes her new heist movie, The Vault, unique, and she doesn't hesitate to answer. "It has a twist," she says. "It has this European twist." And, of course, she's right. In The Vault, a wealthy treasure hunter named Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham) hires a team of specialists, including Bergès-Frisbey's Lorraine, to liberate a long-lost treasure from Spain's most secure vault.

In fact, while The Vault looks just as slick as any Hollywood feature, its cast and crew repeatedly point out that it's actually an independent, entirely European feature. The movie was filmed on-location in Spain, while director Jaume Balagueró, the mastermind behind the cult-horror flick REC, is from Spain himself, as is a large portion of the cast, Bergès-Frisbey included.

In addition, The Vault takes place during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which saw Spain win its first-ever trophy at the prestigious competition. The big event is more than just background dressing, too. As the Spanish people gather in public to watch the tournament's climactic match, all the hubbub provides the perfect cover for Walter's team to infiltrate and rob the Bank of Spain — and a way to ramp up The Vault's tension. See, the crooks only have until the final match ends to pull off their heist. If they go any longer, it's game over.

Obviously, that 2010 World Cup win was a big deal for the Spanish people, and Bergès-Frisbey is no exception. She wasn't watching the game at home, though. During the actual tournament, Bergès-Frisbey was busy filming her English-language film debut, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of Disney's ride-turned-action-franchise, in which she played the mermaid Syrena.

When Bergès-Frisbey films a movie, she tries to shut everything else out. "Generally, nothing else exists," she tells Looper during an exclusive interview. "I'm really focused. I forget all my friends. I forget my family. I'm only working. I try to keep myself in character as much as possible."

In addition, Bergès-Frisbey basically learned English on set. Most of the time, she had to communicate with most of the members of the cast and crew using improvised sign language. There were, however, a few exceptions. "My only blessing was Penélope Cruz in the film and her crew being there," Bergès-Frisbey says. "Her crew was Spanish, the crew around her, her make-up artist, her stylist."

Throw in an Argentinian art director, and you have a pretty solid group of soccer — or, ahem, football — fans. Together, Bergès-Frisbey, Pirates co-lead Cruz, and the others would take a break from filming to go watch the World Cup, including the final match. "We were this group of Spanish people that actually went to see the game at something like 7:00 AM," Bergès-Frisbey says.

And then, of course, Spain won. "We just started screaming in the street. It was unbelievable," Bergès-Frisbey remembers. "It's a very beautiful memory of mine," she says — and one she was more than happy to revisit, albeit with a twist, for The Vault.

The Vault is currently playing in theaters, and can also be found on all major video-on-demand services.