My name means freedom in Irish.

I'm Irish, so I'm messing all the time. Which means, I'm having a laugh. I'm always making jokes.

My whole life I try to make into a comedy, so it would be nice to see that onscreen.

When I am on set or rehearsing for the play, the only thing I can talk about is the work I'm doing. In that way, I home in on what I am doing at the time. So maybe I am a terrible multitasker.

I was 12 and I remember every­thing. I mean, I had done two films before that. The first was actually with Amy Heckerling. It was so brilliant to work with her on my first film. Atonement was the third one I'd done, and I remember how it felt to arrive on set every day. I remember how it felt to get my wig off at the end of the day. I remember how hot it was.

If I'm in the middle of a take and I start to think about what I'm doing, I just mess up and I have to stop and so I find that for me, you really need to trust your instinct.

I think if my child died I would prefer it if I were dead.