Rosie Huntington-Whiteley: The British model on Mad Max, visiting Cambodia for Unicef, and why breakfast has to be green

Humbling experience: Rosie visited Phnom Penh in Cambodia for Unicef (UNICEF/CAM14/Sharron Lovell )

What are you looking at?

I'm at home in LA this morning, and I'm sat in the office looking into my kitchen and out into my garden where my beautiful dogs are playing.

Is it like this every day?

I don't have a routine to life, which is exciting but exhausting. In one week I went to Berlin, London, New York, Shanghai, and back to LA. That's a lot of planes and hotel rooms, which can be lonely. When I'm at home it's important to be grounded. Today I got up and got the dogs up, made breakfast, then I had a few phone interviews to do, emails to return. It's the other side of my job, when I'm not on camera.

You spend a lot of time on your own camera. How big's Instagram for you?

It's a branch of my work. For a long time I shied away from social media, but the last couple of years I've become more comfortable in my own skin. I enjoy giving people a peek inside my life in a controlled way, away from paps or tabloid rumours.

But doesn't that feed the machine?

For sure, but it's strategic. At least this way I can put up pictures that mean something to me instead of the dreadful ones you don't want out there.

Is Transformers a dirty word in your house?

No, not at all! I worked really hard on that film and it took a beating but it was also one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. I still get fan mail about it. And I knew what was going to come with me, a Victoria's Secret Angel, going into a film directed by Michael Bay. There was no way I was going to win with critics, but I saw it as an opportunity.

But that's it for acting, right?

No, my next film is coming out next year. Mad Max: Fury Road. Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy are the leads, but I have a nice part. I loved the old Mad Max films.

Tell me about Cambodia.

At the beginning of every year, I make goals, and this year I felt strongly I wanted to get involved with a charity. Unicef approached me that very day. My team got an email saying they'd like me to go to Phnom Penh to support Soccer Aid. It felt like fate.

Do you feel that you're under pressure to do charity work?

I don't know about pressure but I feel I've lived a blessed life and it makes you want to do something with meaning that can make a difference. I went with no expectation but the trip was so eye-opening and incredibly humbling.

What did you do?

I got to meet a lovely family and hang out with them for a couple of days in a slum, which was quite shocking. For once in my life I was speechless and didn't know how to digest what I was seeing.

I heard you like 'green juice'. What's that then?

I make one every morning and try to have them in hotels. I put in quite a few sprigs of kale and spinach, apples and celery – anything green. Cucumber...

Sounds horrible!

Trust me, you'd be surprised. You put in the right amount of everything and it's delicious.

Biography

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 27, is a Devon-raised model and actress now based in Los Angeles. She took over the lead in the ‘Transformers’ movie franchise in 2011, and is dating the actor Jason Statham. ‘Soccer Aid’ is on ITV at 6pm tomorrow; itv.com/socceraid. All donations will be matched by the UK Government