Harriet Walter

“When I was really young, I wanted to be a fishmonger's wife.”

“I yearn to make a really good, intelligent movie before I die: I don't completely rule out the possibility, but in Hollywood, I'm not bankable.”

“Love is different at different stages of your life.”

“I decided I was going to play Cleopatra as someone with a brain. She's kept Egypt, this tiny country, in a balance of power with the almighty Roman empire, and she's done it through force of personality.”

“I came up almost completely through the subsidised theatre. I have never been absolutely at the market interface, where I've got to sell my wares or die - I've always been protected from that.”

“Luckily, each generation brings forth great writers, actors, directors, and designers.”

“I was not emotionally mature enough to accept any kind of success when I was young. I needed to go that long route.”

“Male playwrights, on the whole, are probably more interested in male characters. They need women characters to be the women in their lives or to be the domestic difficulty.”

“The language is always powerful in Shakespeare, but with 'Antony and Cleopatra,' the speeches are so big and muscular and rich - exhausting to speak, actually.”

“My centre of who I thought I was was never very consciously about being beautiful or attractive - I think I'm one of those people who's actually grown into their looks.”

“I lived with my mother all my life until she died, and I don't really think I knew her, because I was always using her as my mother, if you know what I mean.”

“You need to distinguish between getting something off your chest that won't help anyone else or saying something because you know you will be hell to live with if you don't. Quite often, this will be beyond your control.”

“I've been taking lessons in Damehood from Judi Dench. Being a Dame is useful in restaurants, hotels, and restaurants, Judi says, but you have to get someone else to do the booking.”

“I'm childish and silly. Most people tease me because I'm a bit daft.”

“I'm very aware that after you've played Cleopatra, there's not a lot that can top that in this sphere, so it means that I want to almost change the sphere I work in rather completely because I will always be comparing it to Cleopatra.”

“I'm an oversharer but selective about who I share with.”

“I'm not very good at going to sleep, and that's probably my worst problem. I don't need much more than seven and a half hours, but I probably get six. I take all my problems to bed with me and fret. I can't switch off.”

“Romance is about investing in the future - with older people, there is less time for happy ever after.”