I never used gender as my crutch. Many women don't use gender as a crutch.

In politics, during my organisational roles, I have never seen gender bias within my organisation.

Let me very proudly say that as a television actor, I never, ever saw any gender bias.

Industry people do know when a PR movement plays out. The issue is that it is an insult to our intelligence when those who are doing the PR thing presume that we are not wiser.

I went to public school, and I didn't do well in school. And it wasn't until, actually, I got into school at Juilliard - it was the first time in my life that I thought, 'Oh, maybe I'm not stupid,' because I was so inspired and passionate about what I was learning, and it was the first time in my life I had felt that.

A mentor, a 'teacher,' is like an editor. I absolutely value my editor, who is my teacher.

I wanted to be a great white hunter, a prospector for gold, or a slave trader. But then, when I was eight, my parents sent me to a boarding school in South Africa. It was the equivalent of a British public school with cold showers, beatings and rotten food. But what it also had was a library full of books.

An amateur can be great in front of the camera, but you need an education to get on stage where you have full control as an actor.