Felicity Jones
She was obsessed with French and Swedish cinema. I also remember our mother showing us 'Gone With the Wind' very early on. She absolutely loved Vivien Leigh, so it must have been a formative experience for me, thinking, 'Oh, maybe one day I'll be like Vivien Leigh.'
Interviewing someone is very similar to preparing a character, isn't it? You're just asking questions: 'Who is this person? Why did they make that choice? Why are they doing that?' You're being Sherlock Holmes.
My boy cousins used to sit my older brother and me down and take us through a film-studies course. It included 'Tremors', 'The Goonies', and, of course, 'Star Wars'. That was when it began: sitting cross-legged watching as the opening crawl goes up the screen.
My agent called me up and said, 'There is a tremendous female lead in the new 'Star Wars' film, and I think you're really going to like it.' The opportunity to play someone determined, who's trying to find her skills as a leader; to be in a fantasy movie; to be able to do a leading female role in a film of that scale - that's very, very rare.
I've always been a feminist, and what I love in my work is being able to explore a full-sided woman and not patronize her.
I did think that acting would be much more like being a pop star. Now I'm here, I can't think of anything more different.
I would be writing an essay that was due in the next day until about 1 A.M., and then I would be up at 6 A.M. and on a train to Birmingham to record 'The Archers'. It was pretty intense.
I don't actually think there has ever been too much emphasis on what I am wearing.
I think there is an enormous appetite for great roles for women.
I am definitely romantic, and I love romantic stories - that's why I keep making romantic movies.
It's funny how seeing a love story never gets boring, because it's the dream, isn't it? It's the dream to have a true connection with another human being.
My grandmother has dementia, and my mother is looking after her as her primary caregiver. Seeing their relationship has had a profound impact, seeing how tough it is for both of them and seeing how the roles change and how my mother has gone from being a daughter to being the mother.
The ideal would be to have a career like Meryl Streep's or Kate Winslet's. It's just unbelievable how they manage to make such incredible choices one after the other. If you could have a career anything like that, then that would be a great thing.
When you're a skateboarder or a snowboarder, it affects the way you talk, the way you move, the way you interact with the world and other people.
On 'Rogue One,' we had these sets with tiny little buttons that would light up when you pressed them, and screens full of graphics, and it really felt like you were driving a spaceship. The level of detail; you'll be two meters away from where the action is, but there'll be a little detail there just in case the camera catches it.
It's nice to film in somewhere that you actually love being. Usually, you're in a studio for months on end, and you never see any daylight, so you really make the most of it.
I just always want to play people. I don't want it to be necessarily that you relate to the character as female or male, but that you relate to them as a person. That's the driving force.
I've heard directing talked about as being a benign dictatorship, and I think that's probably the best way a director should be. They're open to collaboration and feedback from people, but ultimately, it's got to be that one person's vision. That's what I think makes a film really stand out.
I was thinking 'Love Story', obviously, was a romantic film of that time.
London is my home. I miss my family so much; it's hard being away. And I miss salt and vinegar crisps. And Marmite. And good fudge. Oh my God. Clotted cream fudge.
I was so passionate about wanting the role in 'Like Crazy,' I filmed myself in the shower because that's where one of the scenes was set. It just felt instinctive. It was a close up! It would have been strange if I'd sent off a wide shot of myself. That's not the kind of work I want to do!
It can be frustrating when you're put in a category with others. Women do get lumped together in this reductive grouping, and you think, 'Gosh, that rarely happens with the boys.' I'm sure people don't say to Eddie Redmayne, 'How do you feel about Andrew Garfield?'
The luxury of radio is that you don't spend hours in make-up, and you can wear whatever you want. It's bizarre. You'll be saying lines, with various people around making sound effect noises.
Often the last thing I want to do is stand up in front of 50 cameras on the red carpet. I'd rather have a cup of hot milk and an early night.
I make all my decisions by listening to my instinct and then keeping my fingers crossed it will lead to a good place.
I love being able to change from big films to small films.
I feel like I personally have been lucky.
If the part isn't always there on the page, I've had good relationships with writers where there's an openness to bring more to the role.
I'd love to do more comedy. It'd just be nice to go into work and not be crying every day. Some broad slapstick would be great. Falling over banana skins would be wonderful.
When a relationship with a director is really working, you have the same idea at the same time. You go, 'Look, this isn't working,' and they'll go, 'I know it's not working. What are we gonna do?' And you go and try something else.
Those moments when you don't feel self-conscious, when you escape that, are when you produce something meaningful.Collection: Meaningful
I'm small. I'm petite. But I'm a bit of a fighter inside.Collection: Fighter
Always, my mother said, "Be yourself." That is sometimes the hardest thing to do. I try to always remember that and come back to that and have strength in who you are. There is only one you.Collection: Mother
I feel like with acting it's not like you make a choice - it's kind of in you and you have to do it or you wouldn't be able to survive.Collection: Choices
"The Theory of Everything" is an extraordinary story because [Jane Hawing] was incredibly religious and [Stephen Hawking] was an atheist, so you have this conflict both on a domestic level between a couple in a difficult situation but also this bigger conflict of science versus religion, so it's a really fascinating project.Collection: Religious
I'm too much left brain. I very much have an emotional response to things; I love literature and films and storytelling. I need to nourish my right side, it doesn't get a lot of exercise.Collection: Exercise
In my work I fight for, I hope, showing women in a true way. They've got brains.Collection: Fighting
When you're believing in the person that you're playing, you feel protected. It's about being true to that person you're playing.Collection: Believe
But for everyone, I think, there is always a pressure to conform, and I guess as you get older you realize it's less interesting to do that. It starts with you, though, saying, 'I know what I like doing and that's what I'm going to do.Collection: Thinking
I want to be paid fairly for the work that I'm doing. That's what every single woman around the world wants.Collection: World
I would work as hard as possible at school so I could keep acting alongside.Collection: School
Going to auditions is always so nerve-wracking. I don't think they ever get any easier.Collection: Thinking
I would describe my look as 'ladylike rock chick.Collection: Rocks
But since doing the film ["The Invisible Woman"] I've really learned to appreciate [Charles Dickens], he's phenomenal. "Great Expectations" would be one of my favorites.Collection: Appreciate
I'm a real geek. I love spending time researching a character and reading about them.Collection: Real
Most of the time I was in the background. I never played [the Virgin] Mary. I was always kind of the third angel.Collection: Angel
I'm small. I'm petite. But I'm a bit of a fighter inside. In my work I fight for, I hope, showing women in a true way. They've got brains.Collection: Fighting
I always had a very strong sense of independence.Collection: Strong
I studied English literature at university, but for some reason we only spent one week on [Charles] Dickens, so I remember just trying to find the shortest book that I could find. I was like, "'Hard Times,' really great - it's short, that'll do it."Collection: Book