I was rejected many times. I cried. I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy anyway. I'm still used to being paid - like most actresses around the world - a lot less than the boys. We're told we're too provocative or that being sexy is our strength, which it can be, and it is, but that's not the only thing we have. But women have incredible endurance and incredible strength. Your ability to deal with it is within you.

It's okay to be you. You don't have to try to be anybody else. Whatever you are, however you are, it's fine. Nobody's perfect.

The harder [role] the better. Definitely. When somebody turns around and says, "She can't do that," then that's the one I want to do.

I'm a tough girl, I know what my job entails - it entails a lot more than standing in front of the camera. So I get it. I won't deny the physicality of it is exhausting, and sometimes my body just can't keep up. But it is ultimately about mind over matter.

There are so many incredible women on TV right now. Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Ellen Pompeo. These are really incredible female leads that are on network TV. Hopefully, with what I do, and the generation of actors I'm working with, that'll make the lives of other girls coming in after me even better. I hope to aim for that.

The great thing about cinema is that it's a great binder. It brings people from across the world together, often erasing the lines between geographies, languages, familiarity, and the like. Cinema is art and art, they say, is a reflection of life and society, so the way we tell our stories is the main differentiator for me.

I live cinema and passionately love music, and my efforts in both these crafts are unfolding.