So I decided to make a film about our need to tell stories, to own our stories, to understand them, and to have them heard.

I always look for an intense experience, an intense ride. There is nothing better than a good zombie movie where you run crazy and blow at monsters! It was a physical shoot and I enjoyed it.

I enjoy doing my more intimate and less commercial pictures and also I enjoy directing.

Playing roles that are intense and damaged has always come more easily to me than doing comedies or lighter stuff - that would be taking a huge risk for me.

It's not that I don't want to become famous or that I'm obsessed by my work as an actress, but it's all about not limiting myself, such as putting myself in a little jail that I can escape from.

I feel like I've always had two selves - the part of me that makes films and the part of me that's political, and they haven't really connected that much. Alias Grace talks about things like class and immigration and women's rights, which felt really good. But especially now, there are pressing things to be said. It's a really scary time in the world. It's a very scary thing to have an American president who openly brags about assaulting women and is openly racist. This isn't a moment to be speaking in metaphors.

Some of the funniest moments I've ever experienced have been in the midst of tragic situations in my life.