It's very tempting to have a nanny and live in a gated community and have a chef - I'd love to have a few dinners cooked for me. But I don't want that for my children. When they're older, if people say to them, 'Did you have a chef?' I want them to be shocked by the question.

I do think it's important for young women to know that magazine covers are retouched. People don't really look like that.

I ordinarily do one film a year and the rest of the time I'm at home with the kids. Even when I am working I'm still basically at home and with the kids. I've never left them to go to work.

There wasn't very much time between wrapping Revolutionary Road and starting The Reader. It was about five and a half months, which, for me, isn't that long. Some actors are very good at just going from one thing to another but I've always been a bit useless at that. The preparation time is important for me.

There were days when I would say, 'God, I can't be without Leo'. He was my rock. We were such a team, nothing could break us, nothing could come near us.

I'm always inspired by actresses who are older than me. Because I know that person has lived so much more life than I have. There's a whole other toolbox.

I have no regrets. If you regret things, you're sort of stepping backwards. I'm a believer in going forwards.