I think [Charles] Dickens was an extrovert and Nelly [Ternan] an introvert, and I think that Nelly saw beyond the fame and adulation and she actually loved Dickens essentially for who he was. So I think he felt like she was someone he could be himself with.

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.

I would work as hard as possible at school so I could keep acting alongside.

I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback [in "The Invisible Woman"]. Ralph [Fiennes] was very open to my input, I think knowing that he couldn't always be there 100 percent, that he had dual aims with directing and acting.

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

When you're a young actor, there's this pressure to rush. But I hope to be doing this into my sixties and seventies, so I'd prefer to take my time.

I've never done a superhero movie. It's very nice to you as an actor in several worlds to go and to experiment.