'Fifty Shades of Grey' Star Eloise Mumford on Playing Anastasia Steele's Best Friend

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published 11 February 2015

Her role in this month's Fifty Shades of Grey gives her serious cred, but in her free time, camping fanatic Eloise Mumford stays really down-to-earth.

On her Fifty Shades role: I play Kate Kavanagh, Anastasia Steele's roommate. She's the friend who's supportive and loving, but also the voice of reason.

On her favorite pastime: For as long as I can remember, I've gone camping with my family. Growing up in Washington, it's so easy to get to Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park.

On growing up: My mom was a badass Outward Bound instructor in the '70s. We did five-day wilderness trips when I was 3 and my sister was 6. My parents would just carry us on their backs.

On camping these days: Now that I live in L.A., I try to do a big trip once a year. It's not car camping! You have to plan out every meal and how much you can carry. We even drill holes in our toothbrushes to lighten them.

On the essentials: Camping reminds you that all you really need are the essentials: food, water, people you love, and your healthy body.

One thing to watch out for: Goats! This past summer in Olympic, a herd terrorized our campsite. The ranger was like, "Be really careful; they gored a hiker recently."

On trail mix: I'm a sucker for Peanut M&M's. My mom is the expert on packing surprises, like busting out a tiny vial of wine or a package of gummy bears on the last day.

On the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer: [It] was released while I was in a tent in the middle of nowhere. We hiked out, and as soon as I had cell service, I watched. I was so dirty, it was freezing, and I was on the side of the road. It was awesome.

This article appears in the March 2015 issue of Marie Claire on newsstands February 17.

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