I never really felt aware of my gender, being a woman, and whether that was in my favor or not. Because there's nothing I can do about that. I'm also really grateful to my parents for having brought me up to feel that equality is just something you take for granted. I hope that our generation will really change that. I think there's a long way to go.
Thea SharrockI ran the Gate in Notting Hill for a while, which is where Stephen Daldry started out. Those theaters are magical, because there's no money, so in a way there're no boundaries and it allows you to be inventive and brave and take risks and all those important things while you're starting out.
Thea SharrockThere's nothing like a great piece of theater - a great performance in a great piece of theater.
Thea SharrockIt takes such a particular amazing and extraordinary type of personality to become an actor. I love them. You can't do my job without them. I've worked with a lot of film actors and most of them are so, so prepared in their approach because they are used to turning up ready to shoot: you have to have your performance, you have to have your lines, you have to have everything pretty much decided and ready to go whenever everyone else is ready.
Thea SharrockIf you cast your supporting cast well, it should be seamless. You shouldn't even notice who's a big part and who's a small part. A good cast enriches everything.
Thea SharrockI don't have a particular genre that I want to stick to; if you work on a small piece, you take that experience with you when you work on a big piece and vice versa. You will take those experiences with you and they will make the next one richer.
Thea SharrockPeople grow and change and develop through their experiences, so ultimately you have to go with what's in the room - the feeling you get from them and what the camera picks up.
Thea SharrockI love working with people I've worked with before and that can be true of when people have worked together. But if two people have a natural chemistry and it just works, to be there for the first time, particularly on a story where it's about these two people meeting for the first time, that goes a long way.
Thea SharrockThe camera kind of finds things that the naked eye can't even see. By moving in a certain way, you're already telling part of the story.
Thea SharrockI've got Tom Hiddleston playing Henry V. I don't want to have a bowl haircut. I want him looking good so, you know, I want him in delicious kind of tight fitting leather jackets. [] I don't want him in tights, so he got nice leather trousers in mine.
Thea SharrockWhen you're casting, you have to do quite a bit of research. But I always think you have to do it with a pinch of salt with actors, because it's so unfair to pigeonhole them and so often they are. I try to be as open as possible and if people are really interested and really want to have a go, then let's get them in and see them.
Thea Sharrock