Kelly Macdonald

“I don't lobby where work is concerned. As long as I know I've got something coming up, I don't really worry. It's not that I'm not ambitious, but I don't have a drive to be hugely successful and be working all the time.”

“It was both comforting and terrifying to go in to audition for 'The Girl in the Cafe,' as I'd worked with everyone in the room on 'State Of Play.'”

“When I started acting I knew nothing. It was a momentous decision to pick up the flyer for the 'Trainspotting' audition. 'Destined' is a bit of a poncy word for it, but I do think I was headed in that direction.”

“I spent pretty much all my wages from 'No Country For Old Men' on a pair of cowboy boots. They're ridiculous. It's like wearing two Christmas trees on my legs.”

“I don't think I've been shy in the past. Young and uncomfortable, maybe. But shy? It has become this annoying term that I've been lumbered with.”

“There was nobody in my family who knew anything about the film industry. I'm from the west of Scotland. It's not exactly a mecca for filmmaking. I think I saw Rab C. Nesbitt in Asda once, but that was about it.”

“New Mexico was such a strange place; it was like filming on Mars.”

“I loved Winnie the Pooh, the Disney character, and I loved his wit and warmth.”

“A few years ago, if you had told me I'd be moving back to Glasgow I'd have said, 'No way'. But it's changed. It's much more vibrant, bohemian. But I'm 35 and I've become a bit of a homebody, I don't really go out much. Same in New York. My home could be anywhere but I love Glasgow.”

“I'm no good at anecdotes.”

“It can get a bit boring working on accents.”

“They're naughty, all those writers - they mess around with people. I know James Gandolfini got a bit fed up on 'The Sopranos': if he said anything in front of a writer, told them a story from his life, it could make its way into the script.”

“I'm so not a celebrity.”

“Being a parent is such a difficult business; you don't always get things right. And also, you don't want to be a perfect parent... You need people to be human, and part of it is imperfection.”

“I get claustrophobic in a harness. I'd be a terrible superhero.”

“It felt like a series of coincidences and luck that I ended up getting the part in 'Trainspotting,' but it's been an incredible journey since then. Every now and then, I sit and really think about it, and it blows my mind. I have to stop because I don't want my brain to implode.”

“I've done a few American accents. I've maybe passed a test. But I don't know if it makes things easier or not.”

“I was interested in drama, but it never seemed like a real profession somehow. It was so outside my experience, and I probably wouldn't have had the confidence for drama school, though I did send off for an application form.”

“Most of my memories are the sound of rain on caravan roofs.”