I didn't go to acting school, so it was great to be able to rehearse for a month or two, to workshop, and be with a director who even gave me acting exercises.

Letting go of things and not being afraid of being ridiculous or over the top - I think that's the main thing for me to work on.

I think it's a legend that Lars von Trier is such a tough person to work with. I really didn't experience any of that. Of course, he's difficult in the sense that what he asks for is difficult. For my part in Antichrist, I suffered a bit. But it was the part - it wasn't him. He wasn't cruel. On the contrary, he was very kind. You know what you're up for when you read the pitch.

I'm a very shy person towards my intimacy and private life.

Everyone gets the feeling that they know you and they know your life, and I felt really embarrassed by that.

I was really nervous about people booing, because my mother had gone for a film 20 years earlier and had a terrible time with people booing, whistling, so I knew that in Cannes people can get aggressive.

I still find it hard to push my own limits. I know where my limits are and that I always have to push myself.