I'm a right pain in the hole for my agent. I won't take certain parts if I think they're offensive or banal. For instance, I won't do a film if I think it's full of violence for violence's sake, or a television drama if I don't think it's intelligent writing.

I admire people who overcome obstacles or who have to commit - I've always really admired commitment, whether it be a commitment to living or a commitment to love. People who commit to a moment. People who are not somewhere else, but in the room with you.

As I get older, I want to draw on my experience to make roles better. I see that in the older women who inspire me - their experience makes them better.

I was quite shy. I used to write stories all the time, and I think that was a worry for my parents.

I just would like to keep going. If I kept getting the kind of work that I've been getting for the last 20 years for the next 20, I'd be a bloody Dame of the British Empire. I'd be so happy.

In theatre, there's the director, the writer, and below them the actor. In film, it's the actors who are most important. That goes against the grain for me.

Any kind of conflict draws me to a role.