Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self.

For me, it was all about working with an inspirational filmmaker.

It is important to be conscious of the message that you're putting out there. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get a movie to the screen. I do feel a certain element of responsibility to say something worth saying with it, as well as entertainment.

It's not often that you get a chance in one role to do the glamour bit and then strip off all the makeup and reveal the real person beneath the façade. Usually, it's either a glamorous role or a raw, emotional role.

I try not to limit myself. The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. That ensures your longevity as an artist and prevents you from getting bored with yourself and, hopefully, prevents people from getting bored with you.

I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women.

There is the old boys' club, but there are ­people who are "conviction lobbyists" coming from the heart.