Because of my filming commitments in America, you have to sign contracts where you can't change your physical appearance.

As a kid, I never thought I'd be an actress. Never, ever, ever, no way. I was really shy - bordering on social disorder shy - and I was really academic.

When you're a kid, you don't want to be teased.

I never thought I would end up being an actress. I thought I really was going to do serious stuff like law or politics.

When I was just a girl in Sydney, no one thought, 'Oh, she's going to be a movie star.' No one. I had to get by with actual skill and talent.

I think that is a really good message, especially for young girls to hear. The fact that someone like me from the western suburbs of Sydney could become an actress in movies who didn't look like a regular actress, and that I can make it I think gives a lot of hope to other girls who are really creative and don't necessarily follow the standard of what some people consider beauty to be.

I contracted malaria in rural Mozambique. I was a youth ambassador for Australia. For a year after high school, you give positive speeches about Australia and as part of it I traveled to lots of different countries.