Lily James, Richard Madden talk lead roles in 'Cinderella'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- "Downton Abbey's" Lily James plays the title role in Disney's upcoming movie "Cinderella," and "Game of Thrones" Richard Madden is her charming prince.

James said she feels director Kenneth Branagh created a truly magical film.

"I am so lucky, and I'm so happy to be here. The whole nature of it - with the sets and the costumes and then on top of that the type of actors that are in it and Ken directing it, it's just been so wonderful," she said.

Madden said he is excited for his family to see it.

"Well I'm just kind of excited about my niece, my little baby niece, watching the film and kind of seeing her uncle being the prince," he said.

Madden added that the dancing scenes in "Cinderella" were more difficult than the sword fighting scenes he did in "Game of Thrones." He trained on the dance floor for months, and he believes the moviemakers created the perfect arena.

"We built that ballroom. There's 2,000 lit candles in the scene. There's 600 extras in costume and dancers performing. You know, it was magical actually being there," he said.

Another magical element to the film is the iconic glass slipper, which was made of Swarovski crystal.

The shoes may have been comfortable, but they were computer-generated onto James' foot.

"It's movie magic. It sort of breaks my heart every time I say it because I feel like it shatters the illusion...the whole story is that prince charming is still looking for a girl because it didn't fit my foot. I don't think it fits any human foot," James said with a laugh.

"Cinderella" opens in theater nationwide March 13.

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