I really like acting in French. It's actually quite different for me, from acting in English. It's fun acting in a foreign language. You're liberated or freed from preconceptions.

I know people think that I always play these characters who are in control and can chop someone's head off with a look.

'The English Patient' was a huge turning point in my career and my life; it became this huge thing. But the whole Oscar build-up got completely out of control; I spent more time talking about that film than I spent making it!

I find it difficult to explain, but I'm quite ashamed of being an actress.

I just don't see very many films. Because I make them.

I mean, if you're being directed very precisely by somebody who has admiration and who's really smart, it's great. If you're being told what to do by a nincompoop - and luckily that hasn't happened very often - it can be very frustrating.

French is a foreign language, but I've been speaking it since I was 18 so it's second nature to me.