Some actors get fired up by the sound of the audience. I just want to retreat.
I am pretty self-indulgent.
Judi Dench and Ian McKellen taught me how to work hard and respect the theatre.
The first thing you have to do is accept that decay sets in and there’s nothing you can do about it.
I never pursued being ‘famous.’
I don’t really have an image of myself. Now, is that true? Well, maybe I do and it’s different, which is why I get shocked when I see how other people experience me. I see myself primarily in a domestic setting.
I’m the same weight now as I’ve always been-even before having children-but I have to say there’s been a redistribution of the flesh!
I’ve never been too afraid of what other people have said, especially when I was younger, but I suppose that was the arrogance of youth.
The wonderful thing about acting is you move along with your decade. The older you get, the more interesting the parts you get to play and you bring more of your personal experience to the part.
The thing about doing anything artificial to your hair is that you have to look after it. So you’re always vulnerable to the weather and time.
I’ll dance to anything: Bob Marley or rap.
Everything has changed. An interview has become such a confrontational thing. It makes you very defensive.
I’m trying to learn to smoke, which is rather weird when everyone is trying to stop. I’m not a smoker. But my character only smokes as an affectation.
There is not enough celebration of companionship. Relationships aren’t just about eroticism and sexuality.
From one till seven, when we moved to England, I spoke only Portuguese. But I can’t speak a word of it now.
I can feel the 60S looming. In my profession, I’ve just moved along with my age. By thinking in decades, rather than whether someone’s 42 or 47, you can give yourself a whole 10 years to turn yourself around in.
When I was starting out, young actresses had the studio system to protect them. Now you have a host of sharks, from your agent to your publicist to your lawyer.
I do think it’s important to live in the present because in that way you won’t be living in a state of regret.
I don’t believe in expending energy on something you can’t do anything about. If there was some easy way of fixing things, I’d probably do it.
We all know now that people can look good for their age. It isn’t so extraordinary, I don’t know why people go on about it so much.
I have yet to see a drama that puts forward women who are successful and have a family. Women are nearly always seen as victims.