My job is not to be a supermodel.

You're not a combination of all your labels. You just are.

We're all a result of our early years and our nature and nurture.

In any good piece of writing, it should be easy enough to switch genders.

All too often, female characters, in particular, aren't multi-layered enough.

I love working in Dublin, but when I'm in London, I'm more focused on my career.

I think when you work with older actors, who are so good, it's rare that they are egotistical.

'The Wire' is my all-time favourite show. It takes its time, and it doesn't spoon-feed the viewer.

In secondary school, I became aware of the idea of being cool, and that was a bit of a shell shock.

I never get recognised. I must have one of those forgettable faces, ha! And that's not a bad thing.

On the Tube, you never see anyone looking you in your eye. They're all looking down at their screen.

I really enjoy 'Mad Men,' but I'm hugely into 'Homeland.' The characters are very well drawn and complex.

I think, so often, women play supporting roles or girlfriends or wives - they're there to support a man's journey.

I did a film a few years ago where I gained a lot of weight for it. I was happy to do that because it was called for in the script.

I saw 'The Help' on DVD. I was blown away by Viola Davis: she really straddled that fine line in the plot between what was tragic and what was heart-warming.

I live in trainers and baggy clothes, but on the red carpet, I either go for something very pretty from Temperley London or a structured Roland Mouret dress.

A friend of mine told me she's going to freeze her eggs, and I thought, 'Well, I also don't want to be a 55-year-old first time mother,' so you kind of just have to go with what happens.

If you're aware of a pattern, you can do something about it, and you can be aware of your own culpability. I like to think I can do that, but, like everyone else, I'm a work in progress.

Very often, as an actress, there's some kind of stereotype, but with any good script, you should be able to swap the genders of all the characters, and it shouldn't make a huge difference.

In an ideal world, we would be able to just swap characters' genders around because I don't ever wake up in the morning and think to myself, 'Oh I am such a woman today,' because that is just so ridiculous.

I wouldn't do really gratuitous nudity. When I was in my late teens, you'd read stuff and be like, 'That character serves no purpose except being naked', so that would not be something I'd want to do. It's pointless for me.

I didn't know my mother was an actress until I was eight and she went back to work. At an even younger age than that, I'd wanted to be an actress, so when I saw her, I clearly remember thinking, 'This is a strange coincidence.'

When I was filming in Budapest for ITV's 'Titanic,' I realised I'd never been to the ballet before so decided to see a production of 'Giselle.' I went on my own. As it was my first ballet, it was a very bizarre and interesting experience but very enjoyable.

I'm only ambitious in the sense that I want to work in as many different media as I can and to play characters which are different to me and to each other. I want to do work that frightens me or challenges me, be it in Dublin or Zimbabwe. I just want to be working.

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