I want people to think I'm sexy, but to know also that I've got an ordinary body and not feel intimidated.

I would like to know that I was still going to be employed as a woman well into my 60s. In acting terms, a career that spans a lifetime is a very hard thing to achieve, particularly as a woman.

I think it's very repressive for a woman to be constantly told that she has to make films about women to better represent women, but then the reverse is not found.

My alter egos have changed a lot over the years. When I was a child, I was a black horse called Storm. Whinnying and jumping over bamboo poles in the garden took up pretty much my entire childhood.

I get grumpy about the innate conservatism of our tastes; I love bold theatre, and I get annoyed when a heritage piece is really successful.

A passion for any novel, and any character, can crystallise your ideas when you really need to be as open as possible as a performer.

I want people to think I'm sexy, but to know also that I've got an ordinary body and not feel intimidated.