Janet McTeer

Yes, I was slightly outside everything when I was growing up. My mother jokes that I was exchanged at birth. She brought us up to have traditional values. She was absolutely not part of the '60s generation.

People are calling a lot, sending scripts my way. Yes, it's wonderful because, let's face it, there aren't many wonderful scripts for women over the age of 10.

But then I got a job selling coffee at the York Theatre, and when I met theatre people, something clicked. I felt comfortable with them; I felt like myself. I decided to go to drama school based just on that feeling. I had never done any acting.

I feel strongly for the younger actresses when a lot of their career is based on how they look. That must be hard when your looks begin to go and you haven't built up the wealth of character parts to get into something else.

I just want people to focus on the performance.

I've always thought if you watch the performance and you don't know about the person, then you only see the performance.

My mother and father are still together after forty something years. I lived in one place till I was 6. I lived in another place from when I was 6 till I was 17.

I have become a marketing tool and I feel very uncomfortable with that. There's no space for me to express myself.

I think you have to challenge yourself constantly. Otherwise, it's boring.

I was always a character actress.

I was incredibly self-conscious about the way I looked.

When you're an actor, you get your ideas from everywhere - even from someone on the street. We're total thieves!