I think the downside of the Internet is that speaking-or writing-has become the point in and of itself.

When you're onstage, you're acutely aware of the reaction of a particular group of people, because it's like a wave.

I much prefer a natural approach to beauty. You know, Coco Chanel always said to take one thing off before you leave the house, and I think that also applies to makeup.

I just don't see myself as the heroine in my own narrative.

Maybe this is my morality coming in again but it was important to me that the actor [ in Notes On A Scandal] was above the age of consent. Although really, what's the difference between 15 and 16? It's the law, yeah, but he's very mature.

What I find interesting is this ricochet effect, that the audience perceives the work and then does something with it, throws it back to the world, and there's an ongoing interaction between work and audience, which doesn't belong to the artist anymore - from the moment you release it, it doesn't belong to anybody.

For me, I think the bigger something is, the more difficult it is to make it nimble and fleet afoot.