I carried on acting during school holidays and was all set to go to drama school when I was offered my first professional job appearing in 'King David' with Richard Gere.

My average day on 'Leverage' starts at 5 A. M. and ends 12 to 14 hours later. An hour drive to the set and back sometimes makes the day unbearably long. You have to grab a few minutes to yourself where you can.

One of the things that takes a bit of getting used to on an American series is having a different director, and often writer, every week.

I'm not really that keen on mainstream; I'm not interested in doing the normal films. I do tend to go for the quirky, different scripts.

My advice to young people wanting to make music and to be in this industry is to really spend your time making music. Make so much music you have no friends. Make music. Figure out what it is you love, and... because if you're making cool art, then everything else will fall into line.

Make that extra effort for every relationship. Whether it's with your parents, your children, your husband or your friends. It makes a difference to them. I try to give my kids a lot of solo time where I play with them, talk to them, listen to them. Similarly, you give time for your workout. You slot a time for it, no matter what.

I think a lot of people would probably assume that I had a bad relationship with LSU, and I don't think that was ever the case.

My life has been immensely enriched by gay mentors, colleagues and friends, and any discrimination and persecution of gay people is unacceptable.