I'm a bit nerdy about accents. I love it.

Directors assume I'm, like, establishment.

I used to have the most visceral response to having my photo taken. I felt like instantly bursting into tears and running out of the room. I hated all the attention, which is such a stupid thing for an actor to say.

I don't think that theater is the higher medium, that it's better than film.

This is how much of a music geek I am: if I have a day with nothing to do, one of my favourite things is to just sit at my computer and make playlists of pretty much anything.

Even if the film doesn't come out quite as you'd hoped, the process can also be very rewarding. I feel that way about a film called 'Lay the Favorite' that I made with Stephen Frears. I did that because the character was a real leap for me. The film doesn't quite all add up internally, but I feel very proud of what I did on it.

I was the kid that grew up watching Bette Davis films.

There are people all over the world who like to write fan letters in the voice of their pet: 'Hello, my name is Fifi and I'm a labrador and I think you're great. Paw paw!'

I don't know how you make a living without a few personal compromises.

No family is sane, is it?

I did 'Iron Man' because I was curious about those massive movies that were taking over the summers every year, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

I read everything. I've always got a book on the go and I'm really nerdy about it, I get through books and don't remember anything about them afterwards. But I read all sorts, from classic to contemporary.

I grew up watching his movies; I know everyone did, but I really feel that a lot of my formative years were informed by Woody Allen films.

I've always had horrible Valentine's Days.

Steven Spielberg was a huge part of my childhood, like everyone's, I guess.

Whenever I'm in theatre situations I will go out of my way not to talk about my father, but in the film world I can be really proud of my family and say, 'You know what: my dad's a really, really famous theatre director,' because nobody has any idea.

I'm a very private person. I barely tell my friends what's going on half the time, so the idea that I should then talk to the world about what is going on seems anathema to me. People can say what they want. I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

Some people just don't have the tools to deal with the stuff life throws at them.

The kind of career that I want is not easy as a lady to manifest, because everyone wants a lady to be likable.

One of the great things about the 'Iron Man' franchise is that they employ fascinating actors who don't necessarily do action movies. Before 'Iron Man' you didn't associate Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow with those kinds of films. There's an emphasis on repartee and wit.

Shopping is a bit of a relaxing hobby for me, which is sometimes troubling for the bank balance.

When you work with filmmakers, and it's their first film, there's an exuberance and optimism, which is quite... There's no room for being jaded. Thinking that you know it all.

I love clothes. I've never actively followed trends, but I definitely know what I like and what I don't like. I think fashion is a really important and empowering thing. I don't think it's superficial, actually, I think it's very important.

Your principal motive on a movie set is to get the film made, but on a Woody Allen set, there's an ulterior thing that goes on, which is, 'Did you have a conversation with Woody? How friendly have you been with him? Am I liked by him?'