Today what is more important for me is performance. At the risk of sounding immodest, I have done it all - 61 movies over 12 years. But now I am looking for quality. It's easy to be a star. Now I want to be an actress.

I want to abolish tags like 'comeback' and 'retirement' that are used to define every married female actor. What is the big deal? In Hollywood, every top actor takes a break, has children, and gets back to work.

Look at Gwyneth Paltrow and my favourite, Kate Winslet. No one ever says, 'Oh, she's making a comeback.' To my mind, I just went on maternity leave and reported back to work.

I think it is important to be a friend to your kids. But it is also equally important to set boundaries. My mother was a strong influence, and so was my dad. My mom was my friend whom I couldn't cross.

I don't use the voice of Bart when I'm making love to my husband, but Marge's voice turns him on a little.

I read all of Rider Haggard's books. For me he had the romance of Africa with a little bit of mysticism. I'm delighted to be looked on as his heir and be categorised as an adventure novelist because that's exactly what I am.

First thing I said to him was, 'LeBron, you know this is true. We had five good years and one bad night'. Like a marriage that's good, and then one bad thing happens, and you never talk to each other again.

I was a bartender for a long time, so I know how to make drinks, but I'm more likely to offer them than to have them. I think this is one of the reasons why I get to live longer than my great-grandmother did, and why I get to produce more writing than she did, and why my marriage isn't in dire straits.