My character in 'Shame' is an outrageous person. Loud and uncompromising and I begged Steve McQueen to give me the job.

I probably dreamt about running off to America or something when I was 16 because it just seemed like I was studying algebra and going, 'What am I going to use this for?

When I went to the Oscars - the only time I've ever been to the Oscars - a few years ago, I wore this Prada dress covered in cooking utensils. I got drunk at the end of the night and started ripping them off and giving them as presents to people, so that was fun. I'm pretty sure that was the point of it, that's how Miuccia meant for it to go I'm sure.

I was trying to find ways of not being pigeon-holed like that. I didn't want to be tied down by my accent. I wanted to play Americans. I don't want to ever be doing the same thing twice, and I just didn't want to repeat myself.

I've always been quite careful about what I wanted to do. I've just never wanted to revisit old ground or do something that's easy. I want to do something that I would look at and go, "I don't know what to do!" The most exciting thing is when you're a bit scared, so I'm looking to find something that's really terrifying.

When you start playing a character every day for seven weeks, it suddenly starts becoming easier.

I'm more the sort of person who doesn't like hugging strangers because we don't know each other, so we shouldn't.