I was a die-hard fan of these books [The Hobbit] before the films ever came out. And when I say die-hard, I wasn't the person who could speak Elvish, but I really loved them.

I cried myself to sleep wishing I was ugly because men leered and disrespected me.

My character is different from all of the Elves you've met before, in that she's really young. And I keep telling journalists this because I've really focused on that in my performance. I'm trying to distinguish her from all of these incredibly sage and wise Elves that have lived for thousands of years.

When I was little, I attended five different elementary schools. My parents are very restless people, which is probably where I get my own nomadic lifestyle from.

I decided I wanted to be a painter, and then that moved into wanting to be an animator. By adolescence, I just wanted it to be something that was important...something that would make a difference in people's lives or leave an imprint in history.

My home is my castle, and I spend a lot of time nurturing it, redecorating - moving this and adjusting that, adding flowers and candles.

That is the greatest source of my anxiety on this film [The Hobbit], is that I'm going to be lynched.