The print size in my mind decreased with time’s incremental decline, and as I arrived at the last word – weeks – it suddenly struck me, with all the force of the fullest sense of the word ‘struck’, that this could actually be his answer and not just the logical next time period in my sentence. Every cell in my body, except those responsible for maintaining a reasonable, calm exterior, was now lindy-hopping at that possibility, the only one that hadn’t occurred to me until that moment.

When I got hit by a car in my home town.

I had quite a chequered childhood. I had a knife put to my throat once when I was a kid, which was very scary.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago, but so early that I knew it wasn’t a death sentence. Until we get a cure for cancer, early detection is our best hope.

I also like dogs and cryptic crosswords.

You now have to address the fact that we might live in so-called wealthy countries at the expense of people who live in poor countries. Our wealth is maybe dependent on somebody else from the poverty side of the equation, suffering on our behalf.

The constant touchstone for me has been the Lecoq school and the mask work and clowning in Queensland

Choosing parts is based on a series of instincts and hunches

My own snoring.

They wanted it for its artistic value. I found that deeply moving.