Quotes

[on filming Call the Midwife (2012)] After filming, I can't wait to shake off all that '50s primness. I'll go out to a gig and dance ridiculously. I love to lose myself in music. Just letting go - it's dead important.

I did an A Level in Theatre Studies and had a really inspirational teacher, and then I just went on to university.

I have a really adaptable face, but when I am just being me, people always think I am younger than I am.

On stage, I find anger at the unfairness of the world easily.

You know that book 'Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking', by Susan Cain? That's like my manifesto. The older I get, the more I think I could be a hermit.

I've been thinking recently about all the qualities you need in order to be an actor. First and foremost, you've got to have a thick skin and give out an 'I don't give a monkey's what you think' kind of vibe, while at the same time really caring what everyone thinks. You've got to be tough and sensitive at the same time.

I have a lot of Breton striped top and silk shirts that always feel good. I also like things with a masculine edge and dislike anything too girly.

I find that women want to tell me about their birthing experiences. In the most excruciating detail. It's not put me off having children, but I do feel like I know too much.

I always knew that the only thing I wanted to do was act, but it took me a long time to say it out loud to anyone, let alone myself. I am surprised by how dogged I have been in wanting to make a living as a respected actress.

My first acting experience was a non-speaking role as a robot. My costume was a cardboard box covered in tinfoil, but I was so shy I refused to go on stage.

I'm certainly not squeamish at all. The countryside makes you very aware of birth and death.

It's amazing what it opens up in women when you tell them you've just played a midwife.

I grew up just outside Hay-on-Wye, on the borders of Wales, on a farm. It was an amazing childhood, but I got a bit stir crazy when I hit my teens. There was the feeling of having to get out, you know, but it was definitely idyllic.

I was always told at school I was posh, then I came to London, and here I'm told I have a country accent.

I don't want to sound too bleeding heart, because I know how lucky I've been, but I never knew how hard it was to be the lead in a television show.

I would like to explore comedy, I want to do more theatre, and I definitely want a future in film. I love science-fiction.

I am not posh. I went to a comprehensive school.

The first time I had to hold a baby, I was really nervous, but I soon grew in confidence.

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

I hadn't realized what an institution Doctor Who (1963) is.

I've not stopped going on public transport. I love going on it.

The most common place I get stopped by fans is the ladies'.

My fondest memories are of watching lambs being delivered.

You have that moment just before you go on - I've had it in every play - where you just kind of want to run away. There's a whole audience, and they are waiting outside, and you're like, 'Why am I doing this again? Why? Why?'

It was a very idyllic childhood, surrounded by utterly beautiful landscapes that I got very, very bored of when I hit my teens. But being on your own a lot and being bored is good for your imagination. It makes it stretch.