Actress

I need my friends, I need my house, I need my garden.

If I don't believe in a role, I can't pull it off.

But I hope that you walk around the corner and you get very surprised.

Feminism was a dirty word for a while.

For years, I never knowingly went on a holiday. When I travelled, it was for work. Now I am a huge advocate, particularly to places which have amazing wildlife, such as Antarctica, India and Patagonia.

I carry music in my head, so I don't need more. It drives me nuts that, in hotels or on boats, people seem to think you need music 24 hours a day.

It's the idea that when you say 'actress', people think of an airy, floaty, no-brain person, which of course you can't be if you are an actor. It is an unfortunate word, which is why, for a time, I hung on to 'actor', because it just seemed more workmanlike, you know, like you say 'woman doctor' not 'doctoress'.

My phrase has always been that I am looking for the versatility of theatre in film. I think I have been quite lucky in that so far.

I don't necessarily wait for that massive leading role. I want to keep the juices flowing.

It's difficult to keep in touch with someone when you're moving around all the time. I've decided that you can have it all, but you can't have it all, all of the time.

I like people to be surprised by the turn of events. I don't want things just to be pat and formulaic. If there's some sort of internal combustion in the character or a desire to change the way things are going, that makes for conflict, which is the essence of drama.

London keeps me grounded. We don't get praised every time we open our gobs there.