I never wanted to become an actress because I'd read great literature or seen great Shakespeare. It was more just wanting to understand what the people were really like, why they said all the strange things they did.

My grandmother lived with us for a short time while I was a child. Old people tend to be slightly more eccentric - they can behave the way they want.

I was the little, funny one. I felt I was the child among grown women.

I was always someone who lived in the future all the time, it was always the next thing - dreams of escape.

Stage is the most exciting. Film is lovely, because it's like a family.

I've never done so much bloody crying in my life. I was always moaning about how hard it was when we were shooting, how awful I felt.

My mother was born on a tiny farm in County Mayo. She was meant to stay at home and look after the farm while her brother and sister got an education. However, she came to England on a visit and never went back.