One of the great pleasures of working in Middle Earth is you get to be another being.

As an actress, and as a person, I really admire Diane Keaton. She's feisty, strong, beautiful and talented, and intelligent.

I am kind of prudish and I have very strict standards about how I present myself. But one of the things that I've always stood by is that women are beautiful and sexy. We shouldn't be afraid of that. [But] we need to make sure that we present that beauty and that sexiness in a way that says we are in control of our bodies. We're strong, we're classy, we're beautiful, powerful beings to be reckoned with, not victims.

Outside of acting, the person that I admire the most is my mother.

I don't know why, but the warmth and the comfort of flickering light help. And a fire, in the fireplace or on the beach, is very comforting. I think when you make something consistent and familiar, it helps. I light candles every single night in my home.

I enjoy the idea that even though I'm resting, I'm accomplishing something by reading a book.

I started to do everything I could to succeed, but found that the more successful I became, the less people liked me.