My elder brother and sister were both sporty and academic, and I think, subconsciously, I knew I couldn't go down that avenue.
I taught myself to listen and kind of regurgitate what I was surrounded by, and it's been a wonderful tool to have as an actor.
It's nice to get my teeth into something that isn't a stereotypical female role.
It's a wonderful thing to have a character with tons of attributes.
My parents live there, and I was born and raised in Scotland. I lived there for the first 11 years of my life, until my parents decided to take our family to France where we lived for a couple of years. We then moved back to Scotland, and that is where I feel most home - where I come back to myself, and I love more than I can say.
I never wanted to be a ginger.
I remember bossing my younger siblings around and making them put on shows and skits with me.
From a young age, I wanted to differentiate myself from my older siblings.
I was so fortunate; in the years that I was in 'Thrones,' we were able to shoot in Iceland. I think some of my favourite memories would have to be isolated out there, surrounded by nothing but snow and ice.
I am a huge box sets fan and love a Sunday marathon session watching my favourite series back-to-back.
I had worked in TV prior to working on 'Game of Thrones' - 'Game of Thrones' is far more cinematic than any other television show that I had done before, and so I feel that the worlds of TV and film are most definitely merging as one.
Mum and Dad sent us to a bilingual school, so we had half the lessons in English and half in French. But I remember being hugely lost.
When I left 'Downton Abbey,' it hadn't yet taken off and become the phenomenon that it is, to this day. That all happened after I left. But, it was fabulous to be a part of it and to be a part of the cast. We had an absolute ball!
I had the most fantastic time filming 'Downton.'
I definitely think it opened doors for me and what was so fantastic about 'Downton' being showed over in the States, was that it helped get me noticed.
I remember loving 'Braveheart,' and I still do! It was one of those films my family had on video and we watched over and over again.
I loved my experience on 'Downton Abbey.' We shot it in six months, and it was the first time I'd ever been on TV, and I was surrounded by my friends. It was a wonderful, wonderful time.
I certainly relate to Ygritte in the fact that she is so strong and also ruthless as well and I feel that especially within 'Game of Thrones,' I think that as a show, it is one of the frontrunners for showing dominant female characters and making sure that men answer to women rather than the other way around.
For the first time in my life I tried whale. It was very chewy and quite fatty. My friend had had whale before, so I knew it would be quite blubbery. It was delicious. I loved it. It was smoked, so it had a lovely kind of tangy taste to it. We had it a couple of nights. I was won over. It was very yummy.
The honeymoon phase always ends, for everyone.
