People always think I’m dainty when they meet me, but I’m really not. I’m very German – we’re not made out of sugar.

I like to stay fit by being generally active.

It's quite a famous story that takes place on Christmas Eve, and the Germans, French, and Scottish are trying to make peace one night and they bury their dead and they play football. I play a German opera singer, in German, which I never have so I am really excited about that.

Berlin is still going through a transition since the Cold War - both in what used to be East and West Berlin. I can still sense the confusion and the struggle for identity there in the streets. There's a pulse to it.

Because I worked in fashion, I know that I like fashion. Haute couture is a form of art that I can appreciate. I'm definitely not someone who wakes up every day and thinks about what I'm going to wear, but on the red carpet, it's reflective of the mood I'm in, or the movie I'm going to represent.

What I really tried to do with Helen was make her show this sad side of her. She was married off at 16, was so young and living in this castle that can't leave because of how she looks, and married to a man she hates and three times her age.

I don't want to live my life in a five-star hotel. That's not real life to me. You can't appreciate it.