You put yourself on tape as an actor a lot - and you send them off, they go out into the ether, and you have no idea what's going to come back, or when.
At my school, Shakespeare wasn't on the syllabus - at least not for me.
I'm not temperamentally into high comedy. I'm not a Noel Coward kind of girl.
It's lovely to work with a group of actors who make you laugh and smile.
Acting has always been such escapism for me.
Being at the pinnacle of my career is not to turn up in some multiplex blockbuster.
The British theatre and establishment is so hard to penetrate, and there are so many talented people involved in it. So, to be counted among some of those actresses... It doesn't get better than that.
I need someone who understands an artist's mentality. I couldn't be with someone who wouldn't let me have my freedom.
I'd love to work on a real girl piece with some fabulous actresses. I feel like I've worked with so many men.
I don't want to be doing fashion shoots and being interviewed about where I shop. Who cares?
I act because I have to, because I need to find out whether I can do it or not - that's what drives me and excites me and lights me up.
I hate to say that my mother was 'just a housewife', because in addition to that she has had lots of part-time secretarial jobs in factories and hospitals, always working really hard for our family.
My family believe you should never be flashy about anything. Maybe that handicapped me a little bit, that extreme humility.
There is a part of me that is not fulfilled by acting. It is a self-involved life; it can feel shallow, but not very often.
Women do well in their thirties. They put their bags down and say, 'This is who I am - like it or lump it.' There is a more relaxed quality, which I like.
