Tuppence Middleton

It wasn't conscious, but I'm glad I've had a slow and steady career path. I wanted to develop my style, and I wanted to be the one making the decisions. Sometimes, when you become a success quickly, those decisions are out of your control.

You want a career. You don't want to do a couple of good films and then your career is over.

I was very, very shy in public and school, and quite loud and brash at home.

I'm tall now, but when I was younger, I used to tower above everyone - I still feel conscious of that.

I don't think, as an actress, you want to be beautiful. It's actually a disadvantage because that's not where all the interesting parts lie.

I've been told so many times that I should go to the gym to get my anxiety and frustration out. But it just makes me feel pure, concentrated dread.

I love film, but it's funny going to drama school for three years, where you spend most of your time training for theatre, then coming out and just doing films.

I would love to work into my eighties. I don't want to be someone who only does a couple of big films and then is famous for just 15 minutes.

I really like watching reruns of 'The Crystal Maze.' It's something that I find weirdly comforting. If I ever have even a small amount of banknotes, I love to 'Crystal Maze' them by throwing them in the air and catching them. But it's never as fun as it looks on TV.

My grandma used to call my mother 'Tuppence' as a term of affection, but she was worried when my parents actually put it on my birth certificate. She thought I might get bullied.

I'd love to have a room full of taxidermy. I'd be devastated if my cat, Archimedes, ever died. I was debating the other day with a friend whether I should stuff him, but don't know whether he would end up looking like himself. I'd be really sad if he looked strange.

I think I would've been a bit terrified to have gone and done a lead straight away. Obviously great if you do, but it's all about longevity.