A deep awareness of all things beautiful and painful.

Warm, sugary, fierce, protective.

Connection, warmth, somebody you can trust and, quite happily, say nothing to.

It makes you feel like you want to live.What is the worst job you’ve ever done? Doing the audiobook of the first book. It was hard. I couldn’t do that again.

To a resistant materials teacher at secondary school called Mr Noel. He had a comb-over and whenever he turned his back to write on the blackboard, we would roll up bits of paper and launch them at his head. Once, I hit him. I remember him turning around and looking crestfallen.

Helen Mirren was in the elevator with me at the National Theatre. She pressed the button but it didn’t move. I said, “Fancy seeing you here and being stuck in an elevator.” And she said, “Was that meant to be funny?” I apologised, and she laughed. Even talking about it now, it feels so awkward and embarrassing.

When I was naive to the complexities of life.

Telesales – having to sell terrible kitchens. I thought, maybe I’m not a good actor because I can’t even convince myself that these kitchens are worth paying for.

Curious, playful and silly.

I don’t think anything scares me. It’s a gift and I want to embrace it.