I take care of myself, which includes dieting, exercising and minimising stress. I joke that I've been on a diet since 1974, which is basically true.

In my life and career I want to embrace ageing because I think that's what's interesting.

I've been dieting my whole life because I have a tremendous appetite.

Really rejoice in being yourself. Have your own drumbeat.

Talented people are written off once they hit their 50s and 60s, and the saddest thing is, we just get better as we get older.

I am no size zero or super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.

A lot of my life has been lonely. Fantastic, but lonely.

I feel sometimes and in some ways like Linda Romanoli and Monica Velour; I feel marginalized because I'm in my fifties. If you went online and you look at some of the blogs, which one can do on a lonely night, it's pretty startling what people will say about you just because you're in your fifties.

I'm so lucky to have a career in my fifties. And to still have the desire to do it. I don't think about retirement.

I never gave up believing that there was much more to life than how I was living it.

Having my priorities in order has really helped me look better, fresher, and more relaxed.

If my accomplishments frighten someone, it's nothing to do with me - that's to do with them. But the men who are in my life see me as a person - as a woman - not as a character I've played.

If you stick with a vision, it might not all work, but some of it will be absolute genius. To me, 15 minutes worth of absolute genius in a film is so much better than two hours of mediocrity. I would rather pay to see something different like that.

I was very close to my father. At the age of ten I wanted to do plays, and my father was very encouraging. When I applied to different acting schools, he was right there and very supportive.

Being a gossip reporter just isn't a respectable job. It'll chew you up and spit you out.

I'm certainly not a prude.

As I get older, I find that cardio is less important to me. What I want to do more of is intense stretching.

I enjoyed making people laugh. I discovered that I loved that power over them. On stage, I felt I could really express who I was for the first time.

A pilot is like the most extensive dress rehearsal you can ever imagine, because the writers are learning about the actors, the actors are learning about the characters.

I didn't want to get married, and I didn't want kids - I knew I wanted to act.

I think the wonderful thing about doing theater is that it's more of an actor's medium. I think that film is more of a director's medium. You can't edit something out on stage. It's there.

My family was going back to England to visit my mother's grandmother, who was very ill. We went up to Liverpool and I met my great-aunt, who was just a force of nature. She was an elocution teacher and a huge enthusiast for theater and the classics. I took her amateur acting class, and she was really impressed with me.

I've been playing sexually aware women most of my life. At this point I expected to be playing moms and wives. It's exciting to play a femme fatale.

I don't want to be in boardrooms talking about hiring hairdressers and minivans. I'm not good at it, and I don't like to hire and fire people. I hate that. It's horrible.

When you're filming, you work 19-hour days, and you know more about what's going on with your crew and co-workers than you do with your husband.

I prefer younger men. In some ways, they are much more open to a woman being stronger and independent then some of the men my age.

I got to L.A., and they said I had to lose weight, let my hair grow and buy some dresses. I was nailing auditions with my readings, but they wouldn't hire me because I wasn't putting on the glam. It just didn't occur to me.

Art is an expression of who you are. Parts that I play are my sculptures.

I don't read reviews because if they're bad I'm devastated and if they're good I get a big head.

I first wanted to be an actress after seeing a play - not a movie.

I sort of have a love affair with my work. Many of us work far too hard and we don't put enough value in the epicurean, sensual part of life.

I've always thought that less was a lot more.

My experiences in film and theatre in the States have been much more rigorous-in England there's an environment of, Let's try this.

Since doing the show I've been so busy that I've not really had time to mope.

That's what life is - you follow where your heart leads you - at least I do.

Theatre can't be done again and again and again and again - it's organic.

I try not to listen to the shoulds or coulds, and try to get beyond expectations, peer pressure, or trying to please - and just listen. I believe all the answers are ultimately within us.

Being a biological mother just isn't part of my experience this time around. However, I am a mother who continues to give birth to ideas and ways of experiencing life that challenge the norm.

There are many ways to be a mother. I have a lot of young actors I mentor, and my nieces and my nephews need a lot of love.

When I got out of my Twenties I stopped playing women that were victims. I like playing women who are strong and have a piece of mind.

Theatre is immediate, it's alive, you're there with the audience, it can't be done again and again and again and again, it's organic.

Your dressing area should be your private space.

You have to be desirable. And that's why so many woman of my age or even younger are pushed to Botox and plastic surgery, all the things that people say, 'Why do women do this?' Where do you go in your 50s in your career?

I don't know many women who can relate to Sharon Stone and the kind of movies she does. I don't know a lot of guys who can relate to Tom Cruise's movies because they're on a kind of fantastic level. I like movies I can relate to.

Looking good has never been the most important thing to me. Maybe it's because I'm more conventionally, um, acceptable, so it's not an issue for me. I don't know.

There's a look people get in their eyes when you're talking to them and they're not seeing you, and you know it's because they have a movie running through their head.

I have a big appetite, and staying on top of that is about knowing myself and saying, 'I can eat that today, but tomorrow I'm not going to.'

The older I get, the less jarring I want my exercise to be, and I find that a long walk is equally as helpful and satisfying as a three-mile jog.

I like to step outside of what people's idea of me might be. I suppose that makes me a bit of a rule-breaker. I like to take chances.

It's easy to diet or get off a diet when you've got a juicy role to play.