Maxine Peake

When I was growing up, because I was a bit overweight and boyish, I thought I wasn't attractive to the opposite sex, but I have since met lads from my school who said I just seemed unapproachable.

Male? Female? It's not always relevant to some people. They are who they are - they might not fit into a specific box.

There aren't that many great female roles in Shakespeare - none that I'd be desperate to play.

What is male and what is female? I don't always feel female.

I was told, 'Your career's made by what you don't do,' and that always stuck with me. I drive my agent mad!

When I graduated, I was my biggest ever: 15 stone, with a boyfriend - my first - of just 11 stone. I was 23 years old. It wasn't just affecting my career: it was a health issue as well.

When we were doing 'Criminal Justice,' they were filming 'Clash of the Titans' nearby and we kept nicking off to their catering tent and going, 'Look what they've got!'

We take things at face value, don't we? You form an opinion about something immediately, but you ought to step back a bit. Take in the vista first.

I look up to the older generation of men - Arthur Scargill, Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn - but my main role model has been my step-granddad Jim. He's brilliant, very political, quite eccentric.

I think all things are political... How women are portrayed - that's a big thing for me. What is this role trying to say about women? Is this woman weak or victimised, and, if so, do we get to understand why?

Cooking, you can keep. I've not the slightest interest in it.

For me, I'm still always that kid from Bolton.