French cinema allows women to look... a certain way and be talented at the same time.
I love acting, and I have no desire to direct.
There was a time when going out to parties and dinner parties and clubs was an exciting thing to do. I'd wake up in the morning and immediately think, 'Now what am I doing tonight?' Now I'd be more likely to reach for a book.
I carried on acting during school holidays and was all set to go to drama school when I was offered my first professional job appearing in 'King David' with Richard Gere.
I'm not really that keen on mainstream; I'm not interested in doing the normal films. I do tend to go for the quirky, different scripts.
Any friendship or relationship is about a language.
I have always liked family-type dramas; I just think the dynamics in families make for some really interesting characters.
I am a big comedy fan, having been in 'Coupling.'
When I had the wonderful occasion to play a goofball, Jane, in 'Coupling,' it was definitely an homage to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who I just think is a genius.
In England, I've never had to drive myself to work. I don't think the English producers trust actors to get up at five A.M. and get to the set on time.
One of the things you have to be acutely aware of when shooting episodes out of order is your character's relationship with the other characters.
One of the things that takes a bit of getting used to on an American series is having a different director, and often writer, every week.
Some directors are really strong on action, manhandling you around the set; others are very focused on setting up the camera shots and practically ignore you. You have to get used to introverts, extroverts, directors who clown around for the crew, and the odd one who's monosyllabic.
Every name in a TV show has to be run by the legal department first.
My mother always said I should have a back-up profession if the acting doesn't work out.
When you shoot on high-definition, everything is very sharp and clear, sometimes at the cost of losing dimension and depth of field.
Not surprisingly, there is a cultural divide between American and British actors regarding the self-promotion associated with new media.
Many American TV actors employ agents, managers, business managers, publicists and stylists, and are now adding digital media manager to the list. Their job is to reach out to the fans, managing websites, Twitter feeds, Facebook and Wikipedia.
