I love baking, it's the most calming thing for me. It's therapeutic, it makes the house smell good, and I get to take the goods to my friends. I do it for other people.

My mom brought me up on old Hollywood. I had been living in Los Angeles. Respecting old movies and growing up with people that were icons that I got to speak to.

It's really important to stand up for yourself and not always agree with what people say if indeed you don't feel that that's true

I’m a huge fan of the books myself, so to know that I got to play Clary – who’s a literary heroine to me – was a huge honour.

Everything was just so spot on and character-building for me in terms of creating Celia [Bryant]. The ability to get to wear all these vintage pieces and immerse yourself in that world and get to wear all these amazing hats. And the shoes!

The idea of improvisation kind of freaked me out.

I loved the idea [of improvisation], but I'd never taken any classes or practiced it.