Olivia Colman

I think I remember being held by my mum as a baby.

I don't have a process; I just feel it. My book on acting would be very short.

I think a good dollop of sadness is quite a useful thing in comedy sometimes. I think if everyone's happy all the time, it's a bit dull. It's like salt and caramel - you wouldn't imagine they would go well together, but they do.

When you've got children, it's easy to do that thing of keeping a tally of who woke up earliest and whose turn it is to put them to bed. But I think the important thing is to appreciate and love each other and to show that appreciation.

My mum was a nurse, and her passion was geriatric care. I used to love listening to the old people's stories in her nursing home and picturing myself in their place. They'd say, 'I went to school in a horse and cart,' and I'd just think 'Wow!' I'd picture myself in their place - acting was a natural progression.

I was never one of those surly teenagers who doesn't smile. My lovely godfather said it was always lovely to see me because I was the only teenager who smiled. And I was so in awe of him, I thought it was one of the best things anyone had ever said to me. So it made me want to live up to what he said.

I used to want to be in 'Downton' because I had never been in a period drama, but then I did 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' and had to wear one of those frocks and... I didn't feel very comfortable.

As a child, I thought, 'Once I am a grown-up, there will be no more fear, no more worries,' and it turns out that's not true.

Proper love should be utterly supportive and comfortable, and it feels like a raincoat or a jacket potato.

I've always wanted to play a Marvel baddie. I'm not sure I fit the mold, though. Like a powerful, extraordinary woman. Somebody with superpowers would be really fun, but I'm not sure how many middle-aged women they have in Marvel.

If something touches me, I cry. That's it. I'm a bit raw, a bit rubbish, really. Often, a director will say to me, 'I don't think this is a scene where your character cries.' And all I can say is, good luck with that!

I remember doing one of those computer careers tests. It told me I'd make an ideal HGV lorry driver because I've got 100 per cent spatial awareness. I'd be able to back them into tight parking spots.

You can over-think things. If the script's good, everything you need is in there. I just try and feel it and do it honestly. I also don't learn things for auditions, because I feel like it's just a test of memorising rather than being real.

I've always done drama, but I suppose 'Tyrannosaur' was a bit of a watershed moment for me. It was like when Kathy Burke did 'Nil By Mouth' - suddenly, people were saying, 'Oh, she can do that, too.'

I find Shakespeare terrifying. When Simon Russell Beale does a speech, I understand every word of it, but if I did the same speech, people would be going, 'Huh? What?'

I can see why people keep having babies. We were looking at a school for my youngest this morning, and there were all these little boys and girls. So sweet. And then the teenagers walk past, and, my God, they're enormous, and I bet they don't kiss their mummies. I'm just going to force my children to remain lovely.

After those first two BAFTAs, I didn't really get offered anything, which makes you think, 'Oh, no!' And, after I finished the second series of 'Broadchurch,' nothing came up for six months, which really is a long time, and I got a bit panicky.

I was always pretty ambitious, although it probably helps that I can't do anything else - apart from cleaning lavatories. But I remember my mum once said, 'I suppose you'll give it a year and see if you can make it as an actress?' And I said, 'No Mum, I think I'll give it 10.'

Everybody laughs all the time, and some of the worst things that happen make you laugh 'cause it's a defense isn't it, I suppose.

To play something which is a big spectrum is so much more fun, so much more of a challenge.

There was nothing about 'The Killing' that patronized its audience, and it was quite slow and detailed, all of the things which, for a long time, people had been nervous of making.

Dementia is such a terrifying thing for all of us, and we are particularly bad at coping with old people in this country.

If people still trust me with a funny line, then that is fine. If that is what gets me work.

I do go into things thinking, 'Right. I'm going to enjoy this.'

For some reason, people imagine that dramatic things happen to people who don't look beautiful.

I open the doors for everybody all the time.

I started off in comedy, but that's just where I got my work. I've always been an actor.

I do sometimes wonder if people think, 'Oh we'll have her because she cries well.' The odd thing is I don't really know where it comes from. If the script is good, I find I can usually cry without too much trouble - in fact, the hard thing is trying to get me to stop. But I'm not really a crier in real life. I'm not a dramatic person, you see.

I was nervous about meeting Charlotte Rampling, as she's a proper legend, but she is just so sweet.

I've been working a long time; it was a slow burn. But I'm grateful it's been like that.

I'd feel bad pretending my life was anything other than pretty good, so I do the role as well as I can and then I go home, have a cup of tea, see my family and friends, and appreciate what I've got.

I was rubbish at school.

I have done Botox, and I loved it.

I am a perfectly normal woman. If what we do is storytelling and represent people that we see all day and every day, well, we do not see supermodels all day and every day.

I'm really enjoying being able to do these unhinged comedies and emotional dramas alike. I'm having a lovely time. After shooting a role that requires months of crying, it's quite nice to be able to play something very different.

You see thousands of films you forget the minute you come out of the cinema, don't you? Because they don't mean anything. It's the tough ones like 'Breaking the Waves' and 'Nil By Mouth' that stay with you, that you never forget. I'd like to leave a few of those behind if possible.

I had a lovely, feral, free childhood - out and then come back when you're hungry or it gets too dark. I feel slightly cruel that I'm not offering my children the same.

My daughter's still so tiny at the moment; she's just a sweet little meaty thing. But of course, you always think about what you want for them, don't you, and like any parent I want my children to be happy more than anything.

I eat a bit too much; my teeth aren't perfect; I've got eye bags. I look like a normal 39-year-old woman - but in England, no one minds that.

Acting is playing, and it is like being a big kid. Yeah, it's great. You get paid.

I love my job and I know I am very lucky but still, if you audition and you don't get it, it still affects you.

I always assumed I would leave drama school and do 'Lady Macbeth' and all sorts of serious things. It just didn't happen.

I think each person you play has a little bit of you in it - you can't really help that.

If the script's good, everything you need is in there. I just try and feel it, and do it honestly. I also don't learn things for auditions, because I feel like it's just a test of memorizing rather than being real. Maybe every other actor would think that was terrible, I don't know. But it seems to have worked for me, so far.

Everything with me is pretty close to the surface, but having kids has completely ruined my emotional equilibrium.

I am just an actor - all I do is I memorise someone else's words and tart around.

I did a forward roll for the kids the other day, thinking it'd be a breeze like it was when I was six, and I had to lie flat for about 20 minutes afterwards - 'Leave mummy alone; she's feeling a bit dizzy.'

I've been with my husband and friends for so long, I've forgotten what is unappealing to new people.

I don't think you can cry if the script is rubbish. I have to feel it; it's as simple as that. It's just like if you're watching something moving, and you feel yourself welling up. It's the same thing. You're just being carried along with the story. There's nothing magical about it. I think I'm in touch with my emotions, and I can't help it.

If a script is good, you are 10 steps into the part just reading it. But my choices are not all down to my taste. It is about people you have worked with before.