People at a point of conflict are always the most interesting stories to tell.

I sometimes think it's like a weird elastic band. The more tragic your work is, the quicker you snap back. There's a catharsis in telling a miserable old tale; you get rid of demons.

There are some roles you just don't say 'no' to. Those compass points: you get them so rarely as an actress.

I don't look like Catherine Zeta-Jones, so I don't think Hollywood would be that interested in me, to be honest. I just want nice work.

As I get older, I want to draw on my experience to make roles better. I see that in the older women who inspire me - their experience makes them better.

Nothing is more diminishing than trying to control success or hold on to things.

You can't worry too much about profile; otherwise, you become a different kind of actor, and that's not the kind of actor I want to be.

There are people out there with three jobs and small children. Being an actor is a walk in the park compared to working as a cleaner overnight. I'm lucky I'm not plucking chickens.

You just grow up and learn to think instead of just feel.

When I started drama school, theatre was the main draw. I never had any movie star notions. Not that there were family ties to the theatre, either.

In theatre, there's the director, the writer, and below them the actor. In film, it's the actors who are most important. That goes against the grain for me.

I read this on the gates to a village cemetery: What you are, we used to be. What we are, you’re going to be. — It puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

All dreams are realities waiting for us to believe in them.

It is not that I am wise

The urge to gain release from tension by action is a precipitating cause of war.

You can have your youth It'll rot before your eyes

If values matter in an organisation, you have to be prepared to act consistently.

It's always been a great survival value for people to believe they belong to a superior tribe. That's just in human relationships.

Throughout my life, I've seen the difference that volunteering efforts can make in people's lives. I know the personal value of service as a local volunteer.

The ones we wish could hear us have heard it all before.

Going to a charity tea party and thinking that you've done your bit toward putting an end to social inequity in the world.