Chloe Grace Moretz has said she isn't interested in playing girls who sit around waiting to be saved.

The 17-year-old actress decided early in her career that she didn't want to portray characters of little substance.

"Even when I was younger, that was a subconscious [decision]. For some reason, I never liked auditioning for the role that just involved being the little girl," she said.

"Even now, I read these scripts about these girls where they're going, 'Oh save me!'. I can't wrap my head around it and it annoys me a little bit."

Chloe was drawn to her character in her new film If I Stay, a cellist called Mia who is left in limbo after a car accident and forced to make a choice - to stay in this world or move onto the next.

The film is told through flashbacks as Mia reflects on her life, relationships and a time when she believed the biggest decision she'd ever have to face was to pursue her music or be with the love of her life, Adam (Jamie Blackley).

Chloe said: "It's why I love Mia so much, because she doesn't say, 'I'll give up Julliard for you'. She contemplates it for a second and then she's like, 'No, why would I ever give up what I love, what I've given my life to?'."

The actress has several other films coming up, including sci-fi action movie The Fifth Wave, in which she has the lead.

She said: "I've been in tons of movies when I was younger and the lead was really mean, or she didn't really care. I think when you're the lead, you've got to boost the morale a little bit and keep the crew and everyone together. When you don't have someone doing that, everything falls apart.

"It's not a hard thing to do, to not be mean and appreciate what you're doing," added the star.

"It's not a case of, 'You're welcome - I showed up'. It's, 'No honey, you get paid to show up, do your job, sleep, wake up and do your job again!' We all do that, and just because you're the one in front of the camera, it doesn't matter."

:: If I Stay is in cinemas now.