The power of a close-up can be extraordinary, but you have to have actors who are able to reveal themselves.
I think courage is commensurate with your fear - if you lack imagination and you're fearless, that's not courage to me.
In a way, the debate about Margaret Thatcher in Britain has just gotten fossilized in this notion that she is either this she-devil who wrecked the industrial base of the country and ruined the lives of millions, or she is the blessed Margaret who saved the nation and rescued us from our post-war decline.
In the not-for-profit world, I never felt that being female was an impediment. I was, however, given my break into commercial theatre by a female producer, Judy Craymer, and women - in particular, Donna Langley, president of production at Universal - were crucial in giving 'Mamma Mia' a home in Hollywood.
Margaret Thatcher was pro-choice. She voted to decriminalize homosexuality. Was not profoundly religious. She was very liberal on social issues.
In London, it's quite a rarefied activity to be on an analyst's couch.
Frankly, I find it very odd that, in a population that's more than 50 per cent of women, that Hollywood isn't producing more movies to cater to that audience. The demographic is being grossly underserved, in my opinion.
Onstage, there's a separation between character and audience; onscreen, you can go to a deeper place.
To be invited to the Park - the greatest free Shakespeare festival in the world - is a great honor, and I don't take it lightly.
When I began to direct, I discovered that I was much more comfortable than I was acting.
It was extraordinary to experience 'Mamma Mia!' What an injection of good spirit and heart it was.
You can't wait for someone to discover you; you have to just get on and do it. Have confidence that directing is a very suitable job for a woman - with our gift for collaboration, listening, and reading the nuance of things.
In a way, 'Mamma Mia!' was such a left-field thing for me.
I was given a mask of myself by Frances Barber when we opened 'Julius Caesar.' I looked much younger and prettier. Wearing it was certainly cheaper than Botox.
Do as much theatre as you can while you're at school.
I wanted to be an actress from about the age of five.
I was hellbent on going to drama school, but my mother, rightly, panicked and persuaded me to go to university on the grounds that a degree would be 'something to fall back on.' Whilst at college, I realised I wasn't good enough or robust enough to be an actress.
There's something about doing Shakespeare with a single gender, whether it is all-male or all-female, that opens up certain possibilities. You are able to throw the behavior of the men into a particular relief and be playful within a slightly larger-than-life way with it.
Shakespeare was writing about his time, and it was a time when women were beginning to demand a voice, demand a say in their lives for one reason or another, mainly to do with the economics of the time.
When I was asked to read a screenplay about Margaret Thatcher, I think I felt immediate apprehension.
