Abbie Cornish looks set for stardom as she takes the lead in Zack Snyder's epic fantasy Sucker Punch. The Australian actress talks about handling big weapons, kicking butt and Skyping with Madonna

In a summer filled with testosterone-fuelled films like Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and Green Lantern, it's about time girls had some fun.

And they certainly do in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, one of the highly hyped movies of the year.

Up-and-coming actresses Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Jamie Chung and former Disney starlet Vanessa Hudgens take centre stage and handle the weapons of destruction in the new film by the director of 300, Watchmen and the forthcoming Superman: Man Of Steel.

Set in 1950s Vermont, the epic action fantasy tells the story of Babydoll (Browning), who is determined to escape from the mental asylum where she was sent by her abusive stepdad, with fellow inmates Rocket (Malone), Sweet Pea (Cornish), Blondie (Hudgens) and Amber (Chung).

The girls' escape strategies see them turning to their vivid imaginations, where they engage in deadly battles with giant samurai warriors, fire-breathing dragons and monstrous orcs, as the lines blur between their dark realities and fantasy.

Sitting in a Los Angeles hotel, with the rain pounding the dark skies outside, Cornish is aptly dressed all in black - wearing a pussy-bow blouse with trousers and heels.

The Australian actress admits she was immediately drawn to her character.

"When I initially read the script, Sweet Pea spoke to me the most. She's a mother figure who looks out for Rocket, her wilder and unpredictable baby sister," she says in her broad Antipodean accent.

While the 28-year-old didn't mind doling out the pain in those fight scenes, portraying the ballsy heroine packed a punch into Cornish.

"That character was an experience for me. Playing someone that tough was hard work," she says. "There were times when I got home on a Friday night and I'd feel hyper sensitive. I'd be really drained - all I wanted to do was get into my PJs and snuggle up."

She hopes her efforts will lead to a shift in Hollywood though, with more women getting to kick butt on the big screen.

"There hasn't been a film like this. Hopefully in the future, it'll be normal for females to do an action film. Women can be just as strong and interesting in these roles as males."

It's certainly a change from Cornish's past characters, including Bradley Cooper's long-suffering girlfriend in Limitless and Fanny Brawne in Bright Star, which won her several awards. But then the actress isn't one to shy away from challenges. She had a three month intensive bootcamp to get into shape for Sweet Pea.

Cornish's experiences of growing up on a farm in New South Wales came in handy too, and she relished getting to grips with the weapons.

"I'm the best shot, obviously!" she jokes. "My brother taught me how to shoot a slug gun. We used to put bottles and old tin cans on the fence at the farm and shoot them off. He taught me how to use a bow and arrow, and a crossbow too."

She continues: "All my guns were really big. The shotgun was massive and the M4 is semi-automatic. I really loved the pistol, even though my character never uses it. There's something about the precision of it that changes your body and how you carry yourself."

Chuckling, Cornish adds: "I loved it, as you can tell. Maybe it was one of my fantasies to play a character where I had a gun in my hand."

It's no surprise the fearsome fivesome struck up a close bond on set: "All of us girls became best friends and shooting the film was like shooting with a second family - it was really special in that way."

The actress admits to feeling unsettled on the last day of filming though.

"It was a big deal, us breaking up. I started to feel disgruntled and uncomfortable," she remembers.

"I was on a wire 40 feet up in the air and my harness was digging into me. All the emotions were coming up, that denial and thinking 'my harness is too tight, it's not on right'. I wanted to abort because I couldn't deal with the fact that we were all about to break up!"

Thankfully, there wasn't time to stay upset for long. Once Cornish had finished Sucker Punch, she began filming WE, directed by the Queen of Pop, Madonna.

"The first time I met her was on Skype - I was in Australia and she was in New York," recalls the actress, who's a long-time fan of Madge's music.

"I mixed up the time difference, so I was a day early. But seeing her on the computer was surreal. I was presented with the human incarnation of this woman that we know as Madonna - it was incredible!"

In the film co-written by Madonna and Alex Keshishian, Cornish - who describes the superstar singer as "amazing" - plays unhappily married New Yorker Wally Winthrop, whose story parallels the romance between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

"I still haven't seen a finished product of the film yet but there's so much within that movie. And I believe we're going to Venice [Film Festival] with it."

Having scored on Snyder and Madonna's radar, Cornish, who split up with fellow film star Ryan Philippe last year, plans to make the most of the prospects coming her way.

"It's an interesting and exciting time for me," she says. "I've worked a lot in the last couple of years, with really great people and the experiences have been wonderful."

"I feel like I'm in a productive time in my life and I have a lot of energy that wants to come out of me in various ways, whether it's music, acting or making films."

Extra time - Meet the other Sucker Punch girls

:: Babydoll (Emily Browning): The leader of the group who plots the escape. "She's actually pretty tough, with an unexpected stoicism," says Browning.

:: Rocket (Jena Malone): Sweet Pea's strong willed but naive younger sister. "Rocket was very free in the way that she could see the world and not always be affected by it," says Malone.

:: Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens): A brunette in reality, she's sweet but often scared. "She has her 'blonde' moments every now and then, but then she jumps into the action scenes," says Hudgens.

:: Amber (Jamie Chung): The group's designated pilot. "Amber wants to fit in, to be accepted, so she's a people-pleaser and a little submissive," explains Chung.

To find local screenings of Sucker Punch, click here.