When I was 16, I played Macbeth at school and my English teacher said, 'I think you may have acting talent. Try to get into the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and see where you get.' I wouldn't have thought of that at all. I wanted to be a surgeon, but I wasn't a clever man.

I was a typical teen growing up in the 1960s, when everybody was into gurus and meditation.

When I was 18 and not sure whether I wanted to be an actor, I realised that a playwright has no voice without an actor. That's my reason for acting: to get that character as right as possible for my writer. And I have never changed my philosophy.

I'm never bored, never ever bored. If I've got a day off I'll sit in a cafe and watch and observe. I'm a great observer.

Now I find my happiness in my music, what I'm doing in the ring, and being a mom. No one thing controls my happiness.

Magic in plays and musicals, I think, is more often created because of the work of an incredible company rather than a single component.

I was never going to be one of those women who put their career on hold, who put their hand out to their husband to ask permission. I used to think that was the worst.

I think playing for England is the pinnacle of every young English player's career.