I'm not an extravagant person. You don't get a chance to spend money when you're working on a TV show.

When you walk onto a Peter Jackson set, you can see straightaway that money isn't an issue.

In 'The Hobbit,' there were British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand actors, and Peter Jackson was adamant that we would all sound like we were from Britain somewhere.

A good trick I learnt early on is not to immediately look at playback because once you know the shot, you can see when the camera is on you. It's best to stay 'in it' all the time, and just if it's on you, it's on you, and if it's not, it's not. It's the easiest way.

My whole career began because I was always putting my music on the Internet. By the time I had my first tour, I had an audience everywhere I went, because people were listening online.

As an expectant mom who is currently self-employed, I'm amazed at just how tied to the workplace maternity benefits are.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the blue blazer's a bit of a loose cannon. A suit decided long ago what it wanted to be, and it doesn't want to hear your ideas, but a blue blazer only got around to half the job. So it leaves it up to you to find its bottoms. Gray slacks, blue jeans, patterns, white pants and different blue shades all work.

I come from a family of doctors and engineers, and everyone expected me to take up a similar career. That was the most natural thing to do!