Vera Farmiga used to fake a French accent to sell underwear.

The 'Up In The' air star used to hone her acting techniques while working in a lingerie store as she discovered creating a new persona for herself could help boost sales.

She said: "I had lots of jobs. For instance I sold lingerie. Doing that I realised how faking an eastern European or French accent can boost sales. Men who buy presents for women really responded to that."

Despite her success selling underwear, Vera found her bubbly personality was unsuitable for other jobs she tried as she spent too long striking up conversations with customers.

She explained: "All my jobs were some kind of performance. What else did I do? Once I worked as a technician for air-conditioners. It was a telephone job; I had to repair air-conditioners via remote diagnosis. But my employers thought I was too chatty for the job, so they made me do paperwork instead."