Rose McIver

I don't really have a drive toward being a director at all. Not that I wouldn't rule it out, but I just don't think my instincts lie necessarily in a very visual way. But I am very interested in storytelling, narrative and character development, so writing is something that I absolutely want to do.

Being given a terrible piece of information shouldn't ruin the interactions you have with the people around you or mean that you can't become something, even if it's not the idea of what you thought you were going to be.

We can get carried away with our heads in books, and although there's so much to be learned from that, I think sitting in a cafe and speaking with someone - whatever it is, their mannerisms, their choices, are just as valuable as any class you can go to.

When I look at jobs, one of the most relevant questions I ask is, 'Is this something I've done before, or is it a chance to experience a new context, tone and relationship?' I also ask if it's a story worth telling and a character with a reason to exist... someone who reflects the human condition.

I'm really fortunate that I am in continuous work and I love what I do. And I think that there's a reason that it keeps happening. So while that keeps happening, I will be thrilled - and feel lucky - to keep doing it.

The reason I feel like I act is because you get to live a million different lives in one. I don't have to go about my life, just being easy-going New Zealander Rose. Sometimes I can inhabit a feisty, vicious character. Sometimes I can inhabit a painfully shy British girl, or whatever it might be.

My mom used cold cream her whole life, and she's got great skin!

I don't ever want to feel like my whole life is laid out before me and I know exactly what's gonna happen. That would be so boring.

When you overcome a profound loss, or there's some catalyst in your life that shifts everything, if you're able to take it in stride and heal, it can make for much more three-dimensional and empathetic people.

If you're small and can speak clearly and you're a cute kid, that's the craft, really. The whole child actor thing can be dangerous sometimes. Other kids were taking piano lessons; I did ballet and acting.

There is humor in the darkest of moments - People who I have loved and passed away, and very high stake situations where you can't help but laugh. I think that's very human.

I do think of myself very strongly as a New Zealander, but when I moved out to the States, I was aware that I didn't want to just live in a satellite community of only other New Zealanders.