People know my characters like Alice Morgan in 'Luther' or Alison Bailey from 'The Affair.' For me, that's a compliment, a kind of joy.
I love meeting people and analysing their world. I like having a puzzle to solve. That's why I do so much work in advance. Even if it doesn't affect my performance in the end, I just find it so much more interesting if I've got as wide as possible an understanding of the material.
I've got friends who are so good at getting away with things, like going up to the desk to get upgraded on a plane, for example. I haven't got any of that kind of confidence in those situations. I look so awkward. I act awkward. I'm really apologetic.
I do get recognised, but if I'm in a restaurant, I'll get one person noticing me, not the whole place. It is uncomfortable when people try and sneak a picture; sometimes, I don't feel like being seen. But I don't stop myself doing stuff. I go to Barry's Bootcamp and yoga just like anyone else.
The difficult thing for me is going to a event and having to be dressed up and being judged for what you wear. People care so much about that these days.
I tend to make bolder and more interesting choices after I've done theatre.
I simply want to take a break and catch my breath. But I also think that, sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is to deliberately keep some time free and see what the world throws at you.
There's a sense most notably with my movies that for people to turn up, and make them big, you have to have a celebrity status. But it's not a choice I've made. It comes to you.
People don't know what goes on in my private life, so they have to make conjecture from something that is photographed.
Cleaning isn't all that interesting to me. I'm disorganized.
I come from theatre, and I feel like I have to go back to it every few years because it's like nourishment for the soul. And, as an actor, it's the place you have most control: no one cuts or edits you, and you get to tell the story each night.
There are a lot more roles for men than there are for women. So men get their fee up by sheer quantity of material.
I come from the south, so you're useless, and you're a bit pathetic. That's the first thing that the northerners think of you. You're also from the city, so you are used to having your cappuccinos and your luxuries and getting your chicken from a plastic packet.
It's how you prioritize in life.
I always vaguely knew I wanted to perform, but I haven't got the greatest singing voice and my dancing isn't up to scratch. Acting was really the only alternative. My parents have been really supportive throughout.
The only ultimate power you have as a human being is over your choice to live or die. Everything else is chaos. If you try and think you have control over some of your life, essentially, that's the only real control you have, is whether you decide to exist.
