On the surface, it's really easy to dismiss certain characters, but sometimes you find that the most interesting parts are disappointingly shallow. It's your job as an actress to pull that person apart, and work out why they act the way that they do.

I'm really into strong, female roles - but they don't have to necessarily be loud - I'm just as interested in introverts too.

What I really learned from Tim Burton is that it's important to have your own person in a role because you can't play a character unless there are elements of human behaviour that you yourself understand. I was really struck by how Tim Burton would like to sit and chat about you... or question things which then you had never thought about. It is a good thing to always step back a bit with things like that. But I try my damned hardest to learn something from everything I do.

I've read my grandmother's memoirs and she served as a nurse during World War II. What they had to do was incredible.

When you get a bit older and you realise that no one knows what they're doing, no one's perfect and it's fine.

Unfortunately I had an ankle problem and underwent three operations.

Girls in scripts are often pretty but brainless, or geeky and no one likes them, so it's great to find richer roles. Chalk and cheese aspects of people are very interesting to play.