I'm not very good at business. I'm more of a creative, fun-loving hippie type.

People think that because of my nature and the tone of my voice that I'm stupid, and that's hard.

I remember being wise beyond my years when I was little.

Constantly having to think about money is not nice. People used to say, 'Being rich doesn't make you happy'. And I'd think, 'I've got no electricity, nothing - tell that to my empty fridge'.

When I first studied Billie Holiday's life story years ago, I admit that I was quite judgmental.

We grew up in Woolton, Liverpool. We didn't have much, but it was irrelevant. We played out a lot with all the kids on the street.

When I was on the X-Factor, I found that I grew a lot as a performer. I knew I could sing but I didn't believe in myself enough... I needed to hear that I was good.

What I loved with Billie Holiday is she had a good way of parlaying the sorrow with a positive musical twist.

I like to write poetry.

I think for a long time it seemed like working in an art form and being a feminist meant portraying women in a perfect, angelic light. And there's nothing feminist about that.

My mum's American. She's from Detroit.

I don't like talking about myself, if I'm honest.

'Twin Peaks' is my favorite American TV show.

I was a really pretentious teenager.

I've never been desperate to please my father.

One aspect of my mum's personality that has influenced me is her love of Hollywood and the golden era of black-and-white films.

My childhood was very colourful, and I am very good friends with both my parents. We have no secrets.

I really think that 'Christine' is one in a million in terms of independent or studio.

I think that female roles, they can be victims, they can be sympathetic, they can be in pain, they can be in suffering - but they can't be ugly. I think there's so much fear surrounding that, that it makes a film unlikeable, that it won't sell.

Since 'Christine' started screening, I'm overwhelmed by the response from women and men - that it's so rare to see something like this. We're just not given the opportunity so much.

I don't think that anyone can really understand anything until it's understood on a cellular, emotional level.

It's one thing to think about something, but it's another thing to actually feel it.

I thought there was something intrinsically fascinating about people who communicate for a living and are incapable of communicating in their personal lives.

It's so great that women are being allowed to be heroes in big things.

Some of my acting heroes have built careers on playing characters who do horrendous things - they're repellent and lovable. They're not likable, but they're lovable. I think Christine is one of those characters.

The last thing that scared me... it was probably something stupid, like when someone jumped out at me, or I thought my new dog had gone to the toilet underneath my piano. Lots of silly things.

The kind of films I want to make are struggling to get made. And if they are getting made, they're getting made on shoestring budgets with not enough time.

At some point, you have to be willing to accept other people's opinions. I think that's helpful.

I think I have a job, which is to present a character in a story and entertain you and divert you with my work - that's it.

If I could be a musician, I'd do it. I love singing.

Yes, I'm a complete itinerant. I keep making attempts not to be, but then circumstances make me uproot and go somewhere else again. It's not the worst thing in the world at all; I love it. In fact, I'm probably horribly addicted to it.

The voice is always the starting place for me with a character.

If you imagine yourself to be someone who is very uncomfortable in their own skin, then it does funny things to your voice.

For better or worse, I don't necessarily categorize myself as a method actor; I'm not going to make claims that I stayed in character 24/7.

I don't believe that all actors should end up being directors.

You have to start from a place of trying to create a character.

I want to try to make difficult people somehow relatable.

We all relate to having highs and lows. Everyone gets depressed.

There is no way of knowing if a film is going to be good.

I've worked on so many films where the script is one thing and then, somewhere down the line - on set, sometimes - it changes, and there's zero I can do about it.

I don't have regular TV; I have Apple TV, so I pick what I watch, which is perhaps not a good thing. I read all the big publications and also listen to a lot of podcasts.

It's not often you get female characters who don't fit into a box.

Anyone who commits an act of violence to themselves or others is worth consideration in the sense that there must be something that brought them to that point, whether it's a mental health issue or otherwise.

A lot of people go through life trying to perform normalcy, and I think you can relate to that.

I felt very fulfilled after doing 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' because I'd always wanted to work with Woody Allen. That was like a lifelong dream, and that was thrilling for me, to enter that world.

Nobody engages in a film, regardless of what your job is in it, to make a bad one.

There's so much crap attached to acting: the fame aspect, the ego aspect, the 'Am I good, am I bad, am I being judged, who likes me, who doesn't like me...'

I've just started to get really envious when I go into people's houses and see books on a shelf.

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?'

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.