I love Sam Mendes. He's a fantastic director.

What I generally get from being in Africa is a sense of warmth and openness. As a stranger, you are always welcomed into people's homes and people are always offering you food. That generosity is incredibly touching.

I would say only be an actress if you genuinely feel the calling, because it's a tough profession.

Actors need steely determination. It's a tough profession with plenty of knocks along the way. You have to be very determined and never take 'no' for an answer.

I can't impersonate someone. That is not what I do. I can only take someone's essence and create a character out of that.

I was really nervous, because I was certain it was going to be bigger than anything I'd ever done before. But I was relieved when I actually discovered that there was a family atmosphere on the set, with a brother-sister team, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson running it all.

I cry at random things, like a flower, or someone giving me a present, or my sister giving me a nice hug.