For me, acting has never been about being a star. It’s about character work. It’s nice to let your ego go and not worry about your appearance.
I’ve encountered a lot of sexism from other women. It’s female journalists who tend to talk about my ex-husband [Jude Law] or my divorce settlement. When I was on Woman’s Hour recently, the presenter really went for the jugular.
The Primrose Hill set had a good time in the 90s. We all had a lot of fun, but now we’ve grown up and we’re really serious and concentrating on work.
The creative industries seem precarious, but being a banker is, too, these days. My parents were creative: my dad was an artist [David Vaughan who worked for the Beatles and the Kinks] and my mum [Mary Davidson] was an actress and singer. That made me want to be creative and now I see the same thing in my children.
There’s a stigma around postnatal depression, so the more people who admit to it the better. I suffered after the birth of my son Rudy. To go through that gives you compassion for others. It certainly makes you question what we think of as normal.
I’m scared of authority. My dad made me want to conform. Standing out from the crowd makes me feel like something bad could happen.
A few years ago I used to get up at 5am and make a smoothie and meditate, and then try and be supermum. Now the health stuff fits into my life. I’m not fanatical about it. It’s crazy to pooh-pooh it though.
I was first written about in a newspaper when I was 10 years old. As an innocent child I thought if you wanted to be in showbusiness you had to talk to the press. Now I know better.
Being doubted makes you driven. If I got the accolades I wanted, maybe I wouldn’t bother to get out of bed. Though it would be incredibly shallow if my main worry was what people think about me.
I’m scared of the dark. I have to keep the light on.
You can’t take things personally when you’re bringing children up. They will challenge you and question your decisions. Let them be themselves and hope they’ll let you be yourself. That’s all you can do.
I’m a tough person. I think as you get older you have to be realistic, so I don’t indulge in crying.
If you have a row always kiss and make up. Arguments are part of expression – they’re just clearing the air.
I’ve never eaten meat. Never. My children say that because I’m a vegetarian I don’t cook, I chop. I’m a terrible cook – I’m like Wendy Craig in Butterflies. Luckily [my eldest son] Finlay can.
I’m a survivor. We’re all given a different pack of cards – it’s what you do with them that counts.
Set the Thames on Fire is in cinemas from 16 September, on demand from 19 September and on DVD from 26 September
