I like the idea that I'm making things that people might think and argue about.

I'm not used to being asked what I want to talk about. That's why I'm an actress. Get told what to do, stand on the mark, say your words, wear this, look this way, look that way.

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

As an adult, it's a huge shock to be orphaned; as a child it's just hideous, ghastly.

'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'm not at all fed up with British films, but I am fed up with playing upper-class people.

There's something incredibly sexy about sand and sweat and dunes photographed like women's backs.