"The Invisible Woman" was about trying to show this conflict in [Nelly Ternan] woman truthfully, between her own identity, but also being in love with someone who I think made very high demands from her.

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

I always hope for roles that have some depth and that I can get my teeth into and that will challenge me, in some way.

There's such a sense of theatre in getting glammed up; it's like putting on a play or short film.

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.

But for everyone, I think, there is always a pressure to conform, and I guess as you get older you realize it's less interesting to do that. It starts with you, though, saying, 'I know what I like doing and that's what I'm going to do.

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.