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My mum thinks I'm amazing at everything. That unconditional love is just the most precious thing you can have.
My first paid role was my first job out of drama school, which was Just William. It was a BBC TV show. I played Ethel.
To be honest, when I was growing up - I think it's because of Kate Winslet and 'Titanic' - I always wanted to do period.
My first paid role was my first job out of drama school, which was 'Just William.' It was a BBC TV show. I played Ethel.
I don't have an exact moment when I decided I wanted to be an actress - it kind of was just really a part of my growing up.
With corsets, it's interesting when you put them on, realizing that's what women actually wore. They're just so constricting.
No one looks twice at me when they're around, and 'Cinderella' has made no difference. And I know that isn't going to change.
The Twenties outfits are all about freedom and loose, flowing lines, whereas in 'Cinderella,' I had to wear corsets and big huge skirts.
I don't like seeing celebs looking too skinny, I love it when they look healthy and comfortable in their bodies and embrace their curves.
I'm dying to do a tiny indie and play something totally naturalistic without any sort of constraints on me. Something where I can shock everyone.
I saw Cate Blanchett in 'Big and Small,' and it was mind-blowing. The fact that she can do theatre and is also a huge movie star is really exciting.
At drama school, we were taught to write down your dreams and carry them around in your wallet with you, and they'll come true, but I didn't do that.
Ultimately, 'Cinderella' is the story of the underdog. You root for her in this fairytale; the girl who has nothing, deserves so much more, and gets it.
I think it's so important to be healthy and confident and natural. And not put too much stress on trying to be thin - I don't get the thin, thin thing at all.
The world of the flapper - live free, wild and young - that energy is intoxicating. It's nice to inject that into the more controlled 'Downton' way of living.
When I worked with Bill Nighy on 'Wrath of the Titans,' he said to me, 'There's one thing you can promise me, and that's never, ever, ever read your reviews.'
I Googled myself, and I saw some nice things and some not-so-nice things. I've learned that that stuff isn't real, and it doesn't exist unless you look at it.
My dad lived on Sunset Boulevard for a couple of years as a waiter, and he said he'd do a different character every time somebody sat down, just to get some practice.
I used to go to musicals every birthday - that was my birthday present. We'd go to London, me and my two brothers and mum and dad. I think I saw 'Mamma Mia' about five times.
My mom passed down to me her old Levi's denim jacket. When I left it on a plane, I was devastated. I've never been able to find anything with quite the same cool, faded look.
It's hard to see yourself as a princess because it involves a huge leap of the imagination and sort of requires you to believe you can be that, which is a scary, weird thing.
I treated myself to a £700 Chloe bag after one of my first acting jobs. Then my friends pointed out that, for the same money, I could buy a flight to India. So I took it back.
I'm learning a lot about how to be one of the 'good' actors. You'd hope that it's natural to be a good person, and kind, but I'm learning how to deal with long, sometimes boring days.
I love putting on a red lip. I don't do it so much for events - somehow, I don't seem to get it right - but when I just go to the pub or to a restaurant or something, I just put a red lip on.
I can only show what I have received from the characters. That's what's scary because you're never going to be everyone's taste and you don't want to let people down. But, I can only do what I can do.
I loved all the princess films, and I grew up with them, and I think it's really cool how they've changed over the years - how the princesses have become more positive role models right up until 'Frozen.'
You know that scene in 'Runaway Bride' when Julia Roberts puts on the amazing wedding dress and looks at herself in the mirror and goes, 'Swish, swish'? I loved that moment so much when I was a little girl.
I think I feel most like a princess when I'm sort of bursting with happiness and love, so whether that would be, like, with my boyfriend or my family or at a really fun party - just when you're full of life.
I think our sense as actors of what we've just done - whether or not it be in an audition - is usually really not connected to any truth. I'm always asking for more takes and more goes. I think I just need to shut up and listen.
In regards to your love life, you're just entering into a whole of pain if you talk about it. If you've never said anything, there are no sound bites to haunt you when you're crying into a box of Kleenex after it all goes wrong.
I think it's probably best to work out in the morning to get it out of the way. My ultimate top tip is to drag yourself, even if you have to roll yourself out of your bed and in to a sit-up - it's really not that bad once you start.
People talk a lot about, 'You're a Disney princess! You're Cinderella!' and this and that. But for me, it's all about the fact that I worked with Cate Blanchett and was directed by Kenneth Branagh. That's the 'Cinderella' story for me.
I trained with Olympics Athlete Jeanette Kwakye - who is amazing! And Shani Anderson, who is an excellent Olympic runner. We trained five times a week; running, circuits, weights, working out in the gym, and on the track. It was an insane time.
I saw this cool interview with Amy Adams from when she did 'Enchanted' and played a princess, and when kids came up to her with no make-up and ripped jeans on, she said, 'I'm off duty. I'm an off-duty princess', and I thought that was quite sweet.
Playing a Disney princess is the most amazing, unbelievable thing and on the other, it's completely terrifying. I would say it's a cocktail of every sort of emotion. Princesses are great role models, they teach you about grief loss and have big hearts.
I think Keira Knightley is amazing, and I've heard also that she is one of the coolest, most down-to-earth, brilliant girls, and I really look up to her in that respect. She's got it all, really, and I think she's made interesting, bold choices in her work.
I played Nina in 'The Seagull,' and I remember thinking it's incredible to see all the actresses in the past that've played her. It's quite strengthening. You feel a part of the family of actresses going through and giving something of themselves to the role.
I am absolutely desperate to do an action movie. And not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but I actually think I'm good at it. I did it all. I was really into the routines and the choreography. I used to dance when I was younger, and so I think that came in handy.
When you're filming in Russia in Catherine's Palace, and you're in the real place where the Tsar's ball really happened, all those years ago, it does so much of the work for you. It's so vivid. You escape into this different time through the costumes, the sets and the atmosphere.
It took me a while to warm to the '20s costumes on 'Downton.' I love it when women accentuate their curves, and that era was all about hiding them. The shapes they wore then were in tune with female empowerment. Cutting off their hair and hiding their busts was a way of saying, 'We're equal to men!'
I have an amazing stylist; she's called Rebecca Corbin Murray... I go around to her living room, and it's sort of exploding with dresses, and we go through them all, and she's so good at picking things she knows I'll like, and we work together. She's taught me absolutely everything; she's brilliant.
Helena (Bonham Carter) is one of the coolest kindest women I've ever met. We had so much fun. She has the best sense of humor. I loved her fairy godmother. It came at a point during night shoots where I was exhausted. It was trippy, weird and cold ... and then Helena showed up. It was like this bright light on the horizon; it was wonderful.
I think I'm up for not trying to play a literary heroine. I think I'd rather just do someone that has just been created in a script, rather than in a book that everyone knows and loves. The difficulty with it and the reason these characters are so loved is that every woman and man that reads it understands it in a different way. They're so relatable, but different aspects will be drawn from different people.