Emily Beecham

“Me and my friends, we wear jeans and no make-up. And people still love us.”

“My mum took me to the theatre a lot, and I'd obsess over them for weeks after. She took me to see 'The Blue Room' at The Royal Exchange when I was 13, and that was a profound moment for me - I remember really wanting to be an actor. It really spoke to me like nothing else had before.”

“I went to LAMDA, which is a drama school in London, and we did a lot of combat there. I was quite good at all that.”

“I don't stalk handsome actors online. That would be inappropriate.”

“You don't lose your sexuality just because you're not wearing mascara.”

“I was always warned about how hard it was to get work, so I didn't at all expect to get a job before I'd even left LAMDA. I was very realistic about it.”

“I was always putting on plays for my family. Usually silly ones. I used my imagination a lot, and it was something that came naturally to me.”

“In London, people don't make eye contact; it's almost too provocative.”

“Anybody can be anybody.”

“When I was young, I went with my mum to see some really random independent films, which really spoke to me: 'My Beautiful Laundrette,' 'Secrets and Lies'... It wasn't all arthouse, though!”

“In order to press further with who you want to become, you have to take risks, put yourself out there... That's the only way to discover you're actually capable.”

“I like beautiful things that are striking.”

“I feel 'The Street' is a really accurate comment on the relationships between people.”

“The girlfriend roles that we are usually offered are nearly always just kind and supportive. So it is refreshing for women and for men to see something different.”

“I never went to school wanting to play cute characters or girly characters.”

“Be creative, have a good time, and be yourself.”

“I'm very friendly and nice.”

“I watched a lot of 'Wayne's World' on repeat.”

“Often you get pigeonholed because of the way you look.”

“In the movies, there's this idea that you're only desirable if you're physically dazzling.”