The daughter of David Cassidy on teenage girls screaming for her father, driving a batmobile and playing the heroine of EL James’ trilogy

I didn’t think it was strange that teenage girls used to scream for my dad.
I grew up knowing how famous he was, so it’s been the only reality I know. I’m really proud to say that I’m a third-generation actor (Katie’s father is David Cassidy and her paternal grandparents are actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward), but my dad always instilled in me that fame wasn’t the important thing, it was about learning the craft and never being afraid to stop learning.

I was a competitive gymnast for 12 years.
I started when I was three and stopped at 15, basically because I knew I wasn’t ever going to be an Olympian. Also, I just wanted to have free time with my friends – I didn’t have much of a life as I was training for 25 hours a week. I had a Russian coach and as everyone knows, they’re very strict. I used to cry out of frustration at not being able to do the moves sometimes. It was tough.

My father loves to advise, but that’s fine because he’s been through it all.
I remember one time he drew me the triangle of knowledge and pointed to the tip saying that was the beginning of our lives and that by the time we’re 30 we’ve barely moved up the triangle. I was about seven when I started acting and he was a little concerned initially, probably because he’d been in the business from a young age, but I didn’t turn professional till I was 18 because both he and my mum were adamant that I got a normal childhood. They weren’t together while I was growing up, but I grew up around him and learned a lot from him about the business. I recorded his old hit I Think I Love You in my teens and he thought it was cute, but I don’t think we’ll work together – I don’t want to mix business with family.

I’m flattered that people have been talking about me for the role of Ana in Fifty Shades Of Grey.
I’ve read the book, it’s great and it would be unbelievable to play her… even if it is a little risqué. I believe they’re in the process of writing a script for it and I’d love to be given the opportunity to take on a character like that. I don’t think the film would offend as many people as maybe the book has.

I always wanted to play a badass chick and get to beat up boys.
My new series Arrow is based on the comic book hero Green Arrow and tells the story of a billionaire playboy, Oliver Queen, who is shipwrecked and returns home to fight crime as the vigilante Arrow. I play Queen’s ex-girlfriend Laurel, who doubles up as the superhero Black Canary. She’s a great fighter, so I’ve been doing fight training for the role. I’m into action, so this is a dream role for me.

My boyfriend (Jerry Ferrara) jokes that I drive around in the Batmobile.
I’m not much of a car person, but I have the new BMW 525. It’s black with tinted windows and black rims and every time I’m in it he says: ‘I’m always expecting some great big dude to jump out, not you!’

I was a bit of a nerd as a kid, but nerds are cool so I’m OK with that.
I was a real videogame nerd. I was a huge Mortal Kombat fan and my favourite fighter was Sub-Zero. His special power was the ability to freeze people but you had to know the technique, which was called the ‘thumb-blaster’ because you would do it so many times your thumbs would be blistered.

British comedy is so brutal.
Nighty Night and Little Britain are my favourites but the lead characters are just so horrendous and horrific, although I still found them completely hilarious.

I always felt older than my peers.
I started working at 18. I had to learn to be professional quickly and that’s been great for me. Acting was always my dream. I can’t believe I get to do it every day.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk