A different script calls for different things. It always takes me a long time to get to know the part, and know the logic behind the words. I have to be with the script for quite a long time before things start to fall into place, before they become part of the character.
I'm quite an optimist, quite happy in life, quite smiley.
I know from my own experience that great films and great actors can have a really big influence on you. There is a place for art in the world, and if you're lucky enough to be good at something and to keep being given work, it's not such a bad thing.
You think that adulthood will hit and you'll suddenly be more capable. But that doesn't happen, ever, does it?
Characters that are not the norm or a bit out of the ordinary are always a challenge as an actress. You learn more by using different tools for those type of characters. They are always much more fun to play and much more interesting. They take you places that you wouldn't necessarily go in your everyday life.
You can't be a woman and not be a feminist, I don't think. If you care about the world and the world you exist in and your rights.
I never come away from a film thinking I nailed it.
Of course you want to be good and you want to do the best you can, but I am inspired by great writing. If there's something about the script, that's what I go for, although I know that that doesn't always translate because sometimes it's about the vision of the director.
When an audience is affected in a way that I've seen with some people, it's so inspiring to me an actor. You know that you're on the right track and you're doing work that can affect people. When that goes hand-in-hand with important issues that we're still living with, and we will be for a long time, sadly, it's so confirming of everything.
I love acting but I also love writing, especially comedy.
I loved working with kids, and kids are the most incredibly discerning audience. And if they don't believe you, they will tell you and let you know. I mean, kids is where it's at, really.
Comedy was why I got into acting the first place. Peter Sellers was a huge influence on my wanting to act. I grew up with him and found him hysterical. The Pink Panther films were an inspiration, from my earliest childhood days, when I was watching them with my brother and my dad.
I love disappearing. That's what acting is. For me it's about putting on a persona, stepping into a pair of shoes. It's my face, but I'm using it as a tool for that spirit, that character.
People are funny, and in the most tragic situations, when comedy erupts from nowhere, it can turn on its head within the space of a second or a minute. You're laughing one minute and you're crying the next and that's just life for me, and that is what people are like.
I remember once giving my dad some drawings and writings and said, 'If you could just give these to the publisher, that would be great.' And I was about five!
