Imagine your husband describing you thus: "Without sounding pompous, she looks like a combination of ancient Egypt and ancient Rome". Or how about this: "She is like an ancient mythological princess. She has great, deep dignity. She moves like an ocean liner."

Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro's husband does. Then again, her spouse is the delightfully eccentric but brilliant Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley, star of such movies as Gandhi, Sexy Beast and Schindler's List. Since their wedding in September 2007 (his fourth marriage), Kingsley has apparently taken every opportunity to wax lyrical about his missus, rarely troubling the same colourful simile twice. From the evidence of reading a handful of interviews that he has done in the last 18 months, she seems to be quite the woman.

Daniela, who is also an actor and works under the name of Daniela Lavender, is in Dublin with the British Shakespeare Company. She's performing in an open-air production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, as part of the inaugural Trinity College Dublin Shakespeare Festival.

Tall and poised, she looks nothing like the ruins of an ancient civilisation in the flesh. I'm also disappointed that she doesn't employ a foghorn as she walks, further dispelling some of her husband's more vivid descriptions.

For our interview, we retreat to a darkened Players' Theatre, where the director of the festival struggles with the boarded windows. "It's fine, I can see his eyes," she says. I worry what she means but we begin anyway.

She talks about her part in the production, playing the dual roles of Hippolyta and Titania.

"It is a great experience because they are opposites -- Titania is a liberated woman, while Hippolyta is a captured woman. For me, it is fantastic to play as they are two halves of what I see as a modern woman. I particularly enjoy Titania because since I have been an adolescent, I have always wondered what it is like to be absolutely free of internal self-judgement. Titania doesn't have that and it is great challenge to play her. It is thrilling."

She speaks vibrantly about the joys of acting and discovering "parts of herself" and "being a storyteller". She is very enthusiastic about the British Shakespeare Company and says how important it is to work with them as part of her first experience of the Bard. It is, quite frankly, classic luvvie speak and one can guess that conversations with her husband over the breakfast table are lively. Do they ever bring work home with them?

"We do talk about the work. We share. Although he is vastly experienced when it comes to Shakespeare, he is immensely loving, supportive and reassuring. But my performance here is as a result of my relationship with the director and cast. If I ask anything, he is always happy to offer advice. But I do my work and he does his. I don't think he needs my advice," she says.

Born in Bahia, north-east Brazil, Daniela is the daughter of a professor of English studies, which might explain her clipped, refined accent. Having studied journalism in college, she turned to drama in Rio before moving to London to further her acting studies. A stint studying flamenco in Los Angeles followed. She has made only fleeting television and TV appearances so far. She has had small parts in EastEnders and Casualty. Her film roles include the low-budget Emotional Backgammon and her most high-profile acting role to date was playing a maid in Ali G Indahouse. Even her own press agents trumpet the fact that she is the "wife of Oscar winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley" in the opening lines of their release.

Perhaps it is no great surprise that sections of the press have been less than kind about their relationship, especially as Kingsley is approaching his 66th birthday and depending on where you read it, Daniela is either 34 or 36 years of age. So how has she dealt with the increased interest in her private life?

"I am not one of those actors who reads everything that is written about them. Because I want to be a brave actor, to take risks, I cannot afford to care too much. In terms of the attention, when I am with my husband, I don't mind it at all. I find it beautiful every time they [the fans] ask for his autograph. I love the audience. I think their love is pure. When they ask for the photo with Ben, they say 'I love your work'. That is beautiful ... It is like magic. I like the attention on him from the fans."

She is touring with A Midsummer Night's Dream around Europe through the summer, taking in Prague and Norway. Then, there are some film projects in the pipeline.

"My agents are in discussions with lots of international film projects, in the States and Europe and maybe India. There are many projects that I will hopefully play. The roles will come. There is a side of acting that I believe is a type of service. I don't keep dreaming that I would like to play that role. The roles that will serve the audience will come to me and I will play and hopefully inspire people."

Fair enough. And what about those fetching descriptions by her husband, comparing her to Rome and Egypt -- does she ever get embarrassed and ask him to lay off? Just a bit?

She laughs: "He's right! If you are in love and you want to share, you should not repress or restrain yourself. Why should we?"

As we leave the theatre, she says: "Would you like me to send kisses to my husband?" Go on then, tell him I send my love. But I think he needs to work on his similes. HQ

A Midsummer Night's Dream continues until Saturday. See www.dublinshakespeare.com for more details. Tel: 01 896 2242. The Trinity College Dublin Shakespeare Festival continues until Sunday, with events around the city

- Garreth Murphy