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.

My mother and father met at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was a senior and she was a junior, and their marriage didn't last very long.

I moved to New York City in '92 and had no money. I had a lot of free time, as actors do. I would go to the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center.

I lived in Peckham for the first 12 years of my life and then my mum and dad decided they really didn't want to bring up their children there. So they saved up money and bought a house in Plumstead, semi-detached, three bedrooms.

The abduction of a child is a tragedy. No one can fully understand or appreciate what a parent goes through at such a time, unless they have faced a similar tragedy. Every parent responds differently. Each parent copes with this nightmare in the best way he or she knows how.