As far as first impressions go, actress Zoey Deutch made a memorable one upon meeting her would-be co-star Lucy Fry at a test reading for the big-screen adaptation of "Vampire Academy."

"I said, 'Hi, I'm Zoey.' And she said, 'Hi, I'm Lucy.' And I said, 'Oh, another Australian,' is what I said," Deutch recalled, much to her chagrin. "But I meant it in an endearing way."

Happily, Deutch's awkward introduction completely charmed Fry.

"I instantly fell in love with her," Fry said. "We went and practiced the scene together in a room before we went in, and it was really good. It kind of helped me to relax because I was super nervous. Zoey was more confident, and I kind of remember going through the lines..."

"I was acting confident," Deutch chimed in. "That was the real performance -- tricking myself and the other people into thinking I was confident."

Confidence is key when it comes to portraying Rose Hathaway, the badass heroine at the heart of author Richelle Mead's best-selling series. The first installment, coming to theaters on February 14, follows Rose, a dhampir (vampire-human hybrid), who's training to one day become bodyguard to best friend Lissa (Fry), a royal Moroi vampire and the last in her line. But there are forces at work that will test the girls' special bond.

Despite their near instant chemistry, neither actress was sure they'd nailed the audition. Especially Fry, who will make her feature film debut in "Vampire Academy."

"I had absolutely no idea," Fry admitted. "I just had so much fun at the audition. I didn't really mind what happened next. It was my first test deal, and I just loved it and had such a great time workshopping. Doing the scene with Zoey, it felt so alive and connected. I kind of felt like that was a really good choice for the two of us because it felt like we had really good chemistry. Then Zoey drove me home, and we chatted the whole way. It felt really right that that was going to happen, but I had no idea that it would really come through."

"Vampire Academy," written by Dan Waters and directed by Mark Waters, hits theaters February 14, 2014.