Let me ask you about your dancing in the film.
I almost cried when I saw myself dancing. "Fantasia" came to mind. This sort of balloon-type person with tiny feet. I saw the menopause personified as I came towards myself. It was really difficult. It took about eight weeks to do.
How was it working with Steven Daldry?
It was Steven's first film, but you would never know it. Also he had Brian Stefano doing the lighting and the camera so you never felt that you were in the hands of anybody who didn't know what they were doing. And because he was a theatre director it's just fantastic for actors. It's the best.
Is there a new trend for more intelligent British films that have something to say and give actors better roles?
I think there is a bit of a trend. It goes with theatre directors coming into cinema like Nicholas Hytner, Sam Mendes, of course, and Roger Michell of "Notting Hill" fame, and now Steven. I think that helps because they're coming from the theatre so they're going to want more intelligent scripts. Generally speaking, theatre scripts are more complex than film scripts, so they want more from a script.
