People say you've got to be OK with your own company, but tell me why?

It is one of the most validating things for an artist like me, to have people sing along to your songs.

People often ask me, 'Who is your role model?' and it sounds a bit cliche, but I've been trying to be my own model.

If you want to underestimate me because I speak like a Mancunian, like the people I grew up with, then so be it at your peril.

Kevin Muscat scared me. You know, people would say 'I'm going to break your legs' - when he would say it, you genuinely believed him.

Give me a celebrity, I'll give you your haters. Some people shine, and some people don't like when they shine. Ask Barack Obama - he'll tell you.

People discover you at festivals. They come to see Coldplay or whoever, and then wander over and catch your act. Festivals make a lot of sense to me.

My whole career, only one person has stepped up to back me. All these people say they like your films. They say this and they say that, but no one actually does anything.

There have been so many people who have said to me, 'You can't do that,' but I've had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach.

People bring it up to me: 'Well, you're only in your spot because you can talk well.' Okay, first off, you could be right. But second, what - am I supposed to apologize for this? No.

One thing I like about historical fiction is that I'm not constantly focusing on me, or people like me; you're obliged to concentrate on lives that are completely other than your own.

I'm trying to get a thicker skin. I like to be aware of people's perceptions of me, but when you put it as a priority, as a means to judging your worth, that's when it can be dangerous.

Most people would snap your arm off to do what I've done, but for me to be able to say my career was successful, I need to have some trophies and some medals in my cabinet when I finish.

Being a grandparent doesn't interest me whatsoever. Babies are all right if they're your own, but I'm not interested in other people's. It's something you tolerate because they are yours.

I don't want to lecture anybody, I would only say this to my fellow people would be to give, however small. Give what your pocket permits. I don't think a person who is giving Rs 10, is giving less than me.

Before I got the contract, I'd heard from a lot of people that a contract with a company like Estee Lauder was like a stamp of approval, a stamp of your legit-ness. So getting that was a really big step for me.

It was so strange because I thought Washington was going to be so grown-up, and everyone was going to be so nice. Then people were saying to me, 'Watch your back in D.C.' Why? Really? I have to watch my back in D.C?

If people want to invade your privacy, they want to invade your privacy. I find it chilling, and I find it awful, and it makes me really nervous. It hasn't happened to me much, but when you have a taste of it, it's bitter.

I've spoken to people in Silicon Valley, and many times they have said to me, 'X storyline, or that thing that happened in your show - pretty much verbatim has happened to me.' And it's either identical or similar enough to be scary.

After 'Rock On!,' when I started acting, and I sang in the film, people asked me, 'What was the need to sing in your film?' and things like that. I really don't have an answer for it. In terms of what made me do it? It just felt like the right thing to do.

When I was at college, my nickname was Keds because I wore Keds. I guess it wasn't really a nickname, because nicknames are usually given to you by people who are your friends and who know you. But I didn't know the people who called me Keds. I think that they didn't like me because I didn't want to join a sorority.

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