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

Female ambition is such a complicated thing to play because it is an aggressive quality, and people respond very badly to women exhibiting any kind of aggression.

Your desire to please... actors are people pleasers and if somebody says your vocal choice in this was ridiculous or whatever you will come back and do it differently. So, to avoid getting into a situation where you're altering your performance way down the line you have to just not do it at all. It's hard and I have done it in the past to disastrous consequences!

I think with the best actors, emotion is something that has no kind of check in them.

I have always been interested in gender politics, so I'm not that keen on doing things that don't represent a truth about women.

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'm fundamentally a busy person; I spend my time doing useful things and profoundly useless things!