My worry about the new generation is that everyone wants to be an actor or model, and they're not the same. As long as it's not to promote celebrity I would be happy to talk to them about what acting involves. It's an amazing thing to do as a life journey - you can learn about yourself and others, but my worry is that people go into it for the wrong reasons. Maybe it's good for famous people to say hey! Don't do it, for this reason!

I was reading something in L'Officiel recently and famous people's kids all want to be a model or actor - God, it's not as easy as that, and that's not what it's about.

I think acting makes you learn about what issues interest you. When I first started out, I really enjoyed acting and telling stories. As time's gone on I care more about what I'm telling; if I'm going to give myself over to something for five months, what is it that moves me about it? Recently I've been doing a lot of working class girl does good, and that sort of stuff - that's close to my heart. But I have other tastes that are quite absurd - I like quite odd films, and odd theatre. That's a side of me I don't really understand, but is really fascinating to me. Also, if you don't start developing something yourself, you get what you're given. And maybe you're one of fifty people on a list - often it's quite limiting. So creating stuff, nicking creative people and saying let's write this script, let's put this play on, that's really exciting to me.

Yes. Not telling.

I don't think so. I really enjoyed it, a great director Tommy Wirkola, he;s just made a film with Noomi Rapace where she plays seven characters in the same scene. He's really interesting. He's got a great attitude to work - we had a great time. But I think everyone's moved on from it - it's a bit too late to carry on with it.

If the script was great, yes. It's all about the script. And then I'd want to meet the director and know they've got vision.

It really depends on the scene. Some scenes you have to prepare for. It depends where you're at - for instance if you're coming in with a lot of tension and anxiety, you might want to get yourself to that state. I get myself to a state, then play the scene, and forget about the state. Be with the actor and act with them, rather than play the emotion, because that's boring. There's something to be said for preparing yourself for a scene. In Nell Gwynn, because I'm on stage all the time, I don't have to prepare as much, it happens around me. Sometimes you can get distracted in scenes - especially on stage, where you've been doing it for months. I have to remind myself to be in the moment, and be present moment to moment. It helps you keep focused and keeps your energy up.

Doing film the most challenging thing is to forget about the camera but know that it's there - if the camera can't pick up your work, there's no point. So yeah, that can be in the mind - how close is the camera? That's something I struggle with.

Isn't the pickle just a more basic version of relish? I see relish as more a Waitrose thing, and pickle is an Asda thing. Pickle is the right thing in ploughman's - relish would be an overpriced ploughman's.

Well, I didn't really have career goals when I started. At drama school they drill it into your head that you're really lucky if you ever get a job - so to have a plan, I never thought about that. Now, I do have things I'd like to do - but I don't have goals, because that's something where when you get to it, it's done. I'm on a journey with my work, and I feel in control of the decisions I made, whereas before I was taking whatever was thrown at me, and was grateful for the work.

Obviously the campervan. I did that, actually, this year for four weeks around New Zealand and it was amazing. As long as you can stay somewhere for two weeks, that's the perfect way of living. I get bored quite quickly.

I am a gradual person. I do it a little at a time. That's the pleasure of making risotto, take care over it. Nurture your risotto.

I think emotional labour does exist. It's a weird job requirement. When I was at drama school , I didn't think I could act because I could never make myself cry. Funnily enough there's a bit in Nell Gwynn where I say I can't act because I can't cry, and he says: you could always act. I can do it now. I had a competition with Glenn CLose to see who could cry fastest! It's not really an impressive thing for me. But to access real emotion, whether that be despair, joy, nervousness, it does take its toll on you as a human being. I do see that as emotional labour - real work. An occupational hazard, which can be damaging.

Even joy - in Nell Gwynn I have to access real joy, and you give so much of yourself, and it's draining. I think it's all about connecting with the actors, audience and text, and obviously you have to find something in yourself that connects with all of that and offer it up, With Nell, it's quite easy, because I feel close to the character. They say joy and laughter are harder to act than crying, and I think that's true - anyone can cry. And yes - Alice Creed, it was very taxing.

Yeah, all three. The writing bit is the bit I feel most wary of. I think if that was to come about it would be with other people, developed with actors to create dialogue rather than sitting down at a computer. I definitely work better in a group. Same with producing and directing. I have a project we're producing this year, that's going to shoot.

Directing is the ultimate goal of mine, but it terrifies me! I just need to get out there and do it, because I think I'll really really love it. I've always wanted to direct theatre, but it'll probably be a film. There are loads of stories I'd like to bring to the screen... but I'm not going to tell you guys because they'll get stolen! That happens all the time.

Yeah - I would love to work with Michael Haneke, Jonathan Glazer. My tastes in cinema are quite avant-garde and I haven't gone down that route yet. Glazer is one of the best in the UK, and Haneke, I've dreamt of getting a script from him for years and years. I have actors I admire, but I'm pretty admire.

My favourite actress is Gena Rowlands - she just plays, she doesn't control herself, which is really hard to do on screen, to feel that someone is free on screen. Physically she doesn't seem to feel she needs to be at a certain angle or anything. She really wants to show something of herself, she's not putting any stops in. I love that scene in Opening Night, where they're improvising on stage - I'd love to get to that point, where you're just playing. I think as well, with so many actors, you can see the cogs turning, and manipulating themselves. Even with the really great actors nowadays - I can see what you're doing! I really can't see it with her - she's on another level. She's unpredictable. But she doesn't really work anymore... I think the days are over of us working together.

Edit: I have actors I admire, but I'm pretty open.

Bake-Off, without a doubt. I was asked to go on it and I couldn't because of timings issues, but I really would do it. I would be nervous about appearing really competitive - like Michael Sheen, who did not come across well. But then Joanna Lumley came across amazingly... I would be more like Michael Sheen though. But I love baking, and I love Bake-Off.

I would love to work with my sister, but it has to be on the right thing - where we're both equal. Like if we were doing a two-hander. I've thought about writing a film with her... there's something to be said about working with your sibling, it's an interesting process. She's really funny, I'm a bit funny - we could do something funny together. If the right thing came up, for sure. Though she might not want to work with me!

Create a set that is free and full of space to mess up. I think often directors are control freaks - that's one of the job descriptions - but a good director trusts their actors where everyone is free to experiment. And the crew too. When you can have fun, you find the interesting things, even if you're doing dismal stuff.

On Alice Creed, J Blakeson, it was his first long feature and he was so chilled. Between takes were would mess around, and then get straight back into it. There's no right and wrong with J - it was a good experience, even though I was not having a nice time in the film.

I don't remember Dirty Ethel. Maybe she was there after my time - I just Googled her, and I think I would remember her. I now drink in the Rum Puncheon down by the river.

So the Globe's Complete Walk is this amazing feat - they're filming every single Shakespeare play in the place where he set them, or rather a scene from each. They do the Tempest in Bermuda, Romeo and Juliet in Verona... so I did Love's Labour's Lost. It was one of my first jobs out of drama school originally. David Dawson who was in Duchess of Malfi with me, he played Berowne. It was really lovely - a really contemporary take. The people who don't know Shakespeare, these are really accessible films to pique their interest. Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Jonathan Pryce... the list goes on of people who are in them.

MIchael called me and said: we thought it would be funny if Jessica was more like her father than her mother - very clumsy and accident-prone. I watched loads of episodes and basically tried to do a Michael Crawford impression. He was on set, so he was giving me tips on how to do it all - "what am I liiike!" It was really surreal. But I didn't get to ride on the velodrome.

I almost didn't take the job on because I was so worried about this! Stepping into someone else's role is really scary. Gugu developed the role with Jessica Swale, the playwright, they'd been friends for many years - and the play was such a success at the Globe. So I really had to man up and just go: come on, it's a new production, in a different theatre, and I'm going to do a different take on it. Gugu and I are incredibly different, physically. And she gave me her blessing, which was really sweet of her.

The good thing about any well-written play is that it's going to get done again and again by however many actors, and they're all going to have a different take. My worry was that it was so recent to the original production. After I got over the "are the cast comparing me" worries, I was fine. I'm inside the role now, and I'm fine. I was worried people would compare us, and that's really lazy critiquing, but no-one did - so that's good.

I think the main thing is that people need to be able to get into the industry. For my sake, I was lucky because it was at a period of time of government grants being given to working class people to go to drama school. At the time I was there, there were probably 10 people in my year who were from council estates, and I think it was because of those grants. Obviously nowadays, we don't have that money now, and we don't have that infrastructure. You can't go there unless you're of a certain background, it's too expensive; postgrads rack up debt.

The way to address it is... you know, charities like the Princes Trust, and on a more global scale you just need to give more money to the arts from the government. It's ridiculous.

There's so much talent out there. Look at John Boyega, and he came to interview me; he'd just done Attack The Block. He was one of this new generation of young black actors who were coming up and doing these cool films. There are so many people who want to get into the arts - they just need to get the opportunities and meet the right people. More money in the arts please! And then we'll be able to support underprivileged people.