'Diary of a Teenage Girl' was my first American movie. It was my first movie in an American accent. It's based on a graphic novel, which was written in 2002 by someone called Phoebe Gloeckner. It was turned into a play by Marielle Heller, who then wrote it as a screenplay for Sundance Labs.
I think that Hollywood misconstrues actresses saying, 'Oh I wanna play a strong female character,' like we all want to play, like, superheroes or something.
It sounds so negative of me to say, but I don't feel like there were many coming-of-age films when I was growing up. I think that when I was a teenager, I felt really misrepresented in the teenage roles that I was watching onscreen. Especially in women.
I started doing theatre, and that's when I really fell in love with the profession; I learned a lot. It felt a bit weird to go from living in New York on Broadway to university, so I kept putting it off. Then, eventually, I had to give up the place.
Movies make teenagers have quippy answers for every question. Nothing seems to faze them, and they're like, 'Oh, whatever.' You're not like that when you're a teenager. You're really earnest. Things really feel like life or death. And you kind of oscillate between emotions at one time. It's very emotionally draining being a teenager.
My dad's an actor, and my mum's a casting director and a writer.
I've been star-struck once. I'm a strong believer that everyone's just a person. Whether you've seen someone on screen do something amazing or they're super famous or whatever, everyone's just a person, and they do exactly what all people do.
There's so much pressure on young people to go to university when they're 18 or 19, but actually, in the grand scheme of it, I don't think it matters to do it at that time.
My first professional audition as an actor was when I was about 12 years old, and it was for a children's television show called 'M.I. High,' which I ended up doing for two years.
I'm one of those girls that, day-to-day, I'm in trainers or Converse. I have about 50 pairs of trainers, so when I get the chance to dress up, I will definitely be in heels. 100 percent. I might take some battered Converse in my bag to wear at the after-party when my feet are tired.
I started acting when I was young, and I didn't go to drama school. It was always something that I did alongside going to school and being a normal person.
I'm so open to different things. The only thing I'd say is I've set the bar pretty high in terms of good female roles with 'Diary,' and I want to continue in that vein.
I'm not saying I only want to work with female directors. But I want to continue to work with emerging female directors.
So many times, you get sent scripts where it's, like, the token chick, where the woman is just there to serve the man in the film.
I loved history and Eastern European politics.
I'm not not a fan of graphic novels, but it's not like one of my pastimes, reading graphic novels.
Playing weird and quirky characters, like those with weird nuances, I find very interesting.
I hope to teach people that it's fine to make mistakes because they will learn from them, to be who they are, and to learn to love their bodies.
Let's just say musicals aren't really my thing!
I was doing one of my first plays at the Royal Court, and Matt LeBlanc came to see the play. He came backstage afterwards, and I couldn't speak. I kept trying to, but no words came out. I just kept thinking, 'That's Joey from 'Friends.' That's actual Joey from 'Friends!'' It was so embarrassing!
