I studied English literature at university, but for some reason we only spent one week on [Charles] Dickens, so I remember just trying to find the shortest book that I could find. I was like, "'Hard Times,' really great - it's short, that'll do it."

I always wear the shoes of the character a week before going on set; the idea of just putting on a new pair of shoes on the first day of filming is just horrific.

I want to be paid fairly for the work that I'm doing. That's what every single woman around the world wants.

Those moments when you don't feel self-conscious, when you escape that, are when you produce something meaningful.

I like Nelly's [Ternan] quiet inner strength. I thought there was something about her predicament that I found interesting - that she didn't want to be a floozy mistress, a bit on the side, that she had more self-respect than that.

The more you work, the more people can see that you're something different from what's come before.

I'm very independent, creatively, always trying to push myself - and I think that comes from my mother.