Half of my mum’s family is Welsh. I remember when I was a kid she used to read to me, and witches and wizards in books always had a Welsh accent, so I guess I took it from that really.
And we’re fortunate if we have parents who are great and loving and inspiring. But, unfortunately, there are people who don’t have that.
I always find it much easier when there’s one person whose vision you’re following, as opposed to many people.
Some people say Dylan Thomas mischievous, he’s a child, and other people say he’s quite demonic. I don’t think we should dictate about him, if that’s your view of him, that’s wonderful, but it’s great to know that other people think differently.
I like watching films when I don’t know anything about the people.
I made a conscious decision to live my life the best way I could and that meant to publicise myself as little as possible.
I see the world through my eyes. It’s sometimes a strange world.
You have to learn the rules to be able to know how to break them.
It’s all about perfection, isn’t it?
Nice is the worst word.
I wish I was Sienna Miller. When I talk to her, I hope a bit of her party personality will rub off on me, but it never does.
Prince William definitely isn’t my type, he’s too horsey-looking.
A lot of times in cinema today the women are overly sentimental, so I constantly try to do the opposite. I like strident women.
I went from everyone saying, “She-can’t-act-she-can’t-act-she-can’t-act,” to an Oscar nomination. So there was something quite sublime about that!
In LA, I’m twice the size- height and everything else- of most of the other actresses who are going for an audition.
I’ve always gravitated towards people who are extreme. Whether its drugs, or kicking down doors. Normally, the people in my life had to escape to get back.
I like to do the pictures before people get too self-conscious. I like to be spontaneous and get a shot before the subject thinks too much about it.
Bigger films are more difficult because the number of people is so huge.
I totally agree. I hate knowing too much when I’m going to the cinema and watching as a viewer. I don’t want to know that the actor has just gone through a divorce. I don’t want to know that the person is an alcoholic. It just gets in the way of my pleasure of watching the character on the screen.
The whole point for me is to change as much as possible. If I’ve done one movie, I’ve done that, move on.
The highest percentage of England’s top jobs are filled by graduates from about two different universities.