When I was growing up, because I was a bit overweight and boyish, I thought I wasn't attractive to the opposite sex, but I have since met lads from my school who said I just seemed unapproachable.

Male? Female? It's not always relevant to some people. They are who they are - they might not fit into a specific box.

There aren't that many great female roles in Shakespeare - none that I'd be desperate to play.

What is male and what is female? I don't always feel female.

When I was a teenager, reading for me was as normal, as unremarkable as eating or breathing. Reading gave flight to my imagination and strengthened my understanding of the world, the society I lived in, and myself. More importantly, reading was fun, a way to live more than one life as I immersed myself in each good book I read.

I don't need a fantasy life as once I did. That is the life of the imagination that I had a great need for. Films were the perfect means for satisfying that need.

I was a visual artist primarily and a writer, even from a very young age.

I love creating new things. It's difficult to be creative once a restaurant's open. People want the same dishes. For me, the creativity is in opening a new place and starting a new menu.