The art of conversation consist as much in listening politely, as in talking agreeably.
From a very young age, stories fuelled my imagination in the most wonderful way.
My real self, the self I have always been from a child, is a loner and nerd, slightly overweight, with a very heavy fringe. That is who I was as a kid. I don't think I will ever be anything other than that.
I am often lost in my own world, with a frown on my face.
I read a lot of heavy literature when I'm on set, so on holiday I want to indulge in something light-hearted.
Documenting trips makes them that much richer. I stick in train tickets and business cards from restaurants. It makes the whole experience poetic, describing the sights, smells and sounds around me. It means I can relive the holiday years later.
I've had that experience of not liking people very much, but having tremendous respect for them.
I don't think I'm curvaceous. It's simply that most other actresses are really, stupidly tiny.
I loved watching theatre, and film, and television. It was a fantastic outlet and my favourite thing to do. I can't remember the decision. It just felt like a completely natural thing... I just completely felt drawn into it and seduced by it all. I found myself going into it.
Because I trained in theater, I always leave a film shoot feeling like I haven't done anything, like I just sat in front of the camera and whispered, essentially.
I can't imagine it if beauty was the only currency I used as an actress. It just doesn't interest me.
I'm deeply ambitious and I always have been.
I'd love to do an action movie. Something with lots of stunts. Anything fast and dangerous and involving guns.
I went to drama school for three years, and the whole thing there is that hopefully you are introduced to a man called William Shakespeare who is the greatest of all time of all storytelling.
It's people's worst fantasy to see their partner kissing someone else, even though it's a job and it's not real.
Although I grew up in London, I spent summers in Missouri, where my dad lived. It's quite a liberal town, Kansas City. You'd be surprised.
If you're playing someone who has lived, there's the risk of imitation, or whether you focus on the essence of who that character was as opposed to physical mannerisms. So, you have to figure out what it is ultimately that this particular adaptation of the story, whether it's fiction or not, is trying to say.
Mum wasn't at all religious, but she thought that going to the theatre was as important a ceremonial, communal experience that a person could have.
I think American guys tend to be a bit more forward, a bit more chatty and open than the Brits. The Brits seem to have a darker sense of humor, though I have met some Americans who have adopted bits of the British dry sense of humor as well.
My first job was a Greek tragedy, and ever since, one job just seemed to roll onto the next. I've been terribly lucky.
I like characters who have faults. I'm drawn to darker people.
I'm not really into makeup, not really into fuffing with hair and stuff.
I think it's always easier to play parts that you have something concrete that you can relate to.
The things that prey on my mind in London seem to disappear as soon as I find myself in a different environment. Survival mode kicks in.
I love firing guns. It's an amazing feeling - so sexy and powerful.
