Zawe Ashton

If you're looking for reps, write letters that are short and professional. Make sure you have a really great reel of yourself. If there are friends you know who are making short films, do them - it's all material for your reel.

For me, the banner that I want to wave in terms of giving a jump start to writers of any gender is just to make female protagonists as complex as their male counterparts.

The actors I admire always have something to say, or a level of poetry, belief, activism or intelligence about what they do or how they feel.

I've had times in the past where I wanted to give up acting, get my head out of the arts because it was like my constitution couldn't deal with it. My job means I get judged on my looks; I get discriminated against because of my sex; I take on roles that are so two-dimensional... you can go mad trying to fill that third dimension.

I had a meeting a while back with a big group of women - actors and producers and writers - who are all ethnic minorities and we just aired what we thought was happening and why, and someone said that, as a black or mixed race actress, you feel like you're renting space instead of carving out a career. But I'm just going to get on with it.

I plan on having a long career. I don't want to burn out.

The first film I ushered was Lynne Ramsay's 'Morvern Callar.' I started at 18. Best job in the world. Blockbusters, indie films, classic matinees.

When you're an actor, wealth is about choice.

Patsy Ferran in Tennessee Williams' 'Summer and Smoke'-I thought that was just one of the most phenomenal performances I've seen from a young woman.

My drama teacher when I was a kid called me ‘Zawe the activist' and I had no idea why. Now I've got older I can see why she always saw that in me.

I'm just coming to terms with the fact that I will always do lots of different things and I can't really stay in one place too long.

I know I'm different and I don't fit in to any kind of generic mould.