What you want, as an actor, is a great leader. I can't bear it when I work with a director who is wishy-washy and says, "What did you think?"

I think when a man sees a woman who knows what she wants it can be scary, but it can also be tempting.

If I have to produce movies, direct movies, whatever to change the way Hollywood treats older women, I'll do it. If I have to bend the rules, I will. If I have to break them, I will.

I got knockback after knockback at auditions. Just before ‘Mulholland Dr.’ my agent told me I was so intense I was freaking people out. She told me I was a brilliant actor but the feedback was that I made people feel uncomfortable because I was so nervous and intense. I just sat there and blubbed. My mum was staying in LA at the time and I went to her and said: ‘I just can’t do this. I’m not cut out for it.’ She just said: ‘Don’t believe a word people say about you. Forget them.’

I go to a dance class myself called BBS - Body By Simone - its little mini dance routines and I am often the oldest person in the room although I forget that. I'm fairly fit.

In your 20s - and these are generalizations of course - I feel like I didn't care about as many things or as many people, or even myself, as much. There's more recklessness and more ruthlessness; you're not as considerate of how things land with other people I think.

Sometimes you arrive late in the process of filming, which makes it a little scary because they've already got this well-established technique going on, and all of the relationships are comfy and cozy. You have to figure out how to fit in, which can always be a scary first day.