My mother [was in advertising and] worked incredibly hard when she was bringing us up. She was a working mother and a working single parent.

I've done quite a lot of improv work before, and I wanted to do this film ["The Invisible Woman"] because it felt like a different technique. We were very true to the lines, and there was something quite formal and almost theatrical about it.

I think that when something happens when you're growing up, like a death or divorce, it does open the world slightly because things aren't as straightforward.

It can be very intense being an actor; it can be quite a small world. Then you speak to your friend who is a scientist and they have a completely different perspective.

I'm small. I'm petite. But I'm a bit of a fighter inside.

You have to be brave and not always play likeable people. It's difficult, because there's a demand for the hero or heroine to be very likeable.

I always had a very strong sense of independence.