I happen to have worked with male directors who don't understand women at all. Not at all. I'm flabbergasted by their ignorance.

I lead a very boring life.

Sunday evenings often feel like the weekend is over before it's even begun.

I listen to Radio 4 and put the iPod on shuffle. I like the randomness of, say, the Stones, then something from Nina Simone, Nick Drake or Bob Dylan.

It's funny, I listen to friends who talk about back when they were 14, eight, 16, whatever, as if it was yesterday. Me, I've no idea what I did. It's all a blur, I'm afraid.

I'm so glad this is the last day of these thing, I get so tired of listening to my own voice.

Actors are accustomed to doing exactly what the director or writer requests us to do, and rarely get involved in that part of the process.

Britain is producing some of the worst films in the world. Our film industry is desperate to be part of America, and we just churn out flaccid imitations of bad films over there.

Occasionally I go shopping for clothes, but I find the whole thing a real chore.

Left to my own devices I'd get up at midday every day of my life.

What's it like to kiss Mel Gibson?

The teaching must, of course, work with the best part of the individual, must be directed to his or her real capacity.

One becomes a gardener by becoming a gardener.

When passion is mutual, there is always the danger of the fire burning to ashes.

They were doing a full back shot of me in a swimsuit and I thought, Oh my God, I have to be so brave. See, every woman hates herself from behind.

I love intricate plotting and exciting twists, but I realize more that people enjoy a good story in a simple, focused way.

In time of peril, like the needle to the loadstone, obedience, irrespective of rank, generally flies to him who is best fitted to command.

If you can make yourself symmetrical, you're sending out a sign that you've got good genes, you've got a good upbringing and therefore you'll make a good mate.

The caged eagle become a metaphor for all forms of isolation, the ultimate in imprisonment. A zoo is prison.

Computerization brings about an essential change in the way the worker can know the world and, with it, a crisis of confidence inthe possibility of certain knowledge.

If you manipulate, coerce, and bully your children, you will have no power at all. If you lead with humility, gentleness, and by example, you will need no power at all.