I did 'Tumbleweeds' for fun. I did it because I loved it and I hardly even got paid.

I do mostly British projects, and for family reasons and life reasons Britain's my home, where I have a lovely garden.

I just want people to focus on the performance.

But then I got a job selling coffee at the York Theatre, and when I met theatre people, something clicked. I felt comfortable with them; I felt like myself. I decided to go to drama school based just on that feeling. I had never done any acting.

When youre a young English person who wants to be an actress and you have dreams, you dream of being Vanessa Redgrave or Judi Dench.

I would often go on as myself, when I wasn't working. And the first time I went on as myself, two people came up and asked me what I was doing and who I was.

If you play men, in a way it's easier. You can have a voicebox, you can have false hair, mustaches, wigs, you can have all kinds of stuff. But when you're playing women playing men, you only really have yourself to work with, plus tiny little extras.