Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self.

From the age of four, I loved ballet and tap. I was in the school band, the choir, and all my school plays.

I think there are parts of myself in every character I play.

Different fragrances promote different emotions, and I find that fragrance gets me in the frame of mind for that person.

I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women.

I was born in the '80s, so I don't really remember it very strongly, but the music is so iconic.

I think all characters that we play are facets of ourselves.

I try to define myself through my own choices rather than just accepting society's kind of you're that, you're that, let me put you in a box kind of thing.

As an actress, I'm an emotional person.

As a biracial girl growing up in England, I'd never really seen any historical characters who looked like me depicted on film before that weren't being brutalized or playing slaves.

I like being free to take on any project that inspires me and to trust that the work will speak for itself.

I try not to limit myself. The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. That ensures your longevity as an artist and prevents you from getting bored with yourself and, hopefully, prevents people from getting bored with you.

It is important to be conscious of the message that you're putting out there. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get a movie to the screen. I do feel a certain element of responsibility to say something worth saying with it, as well as entertainment.

I prefer to focus on the future. There are a lot of new stories to be heard.

I've always had an ear for languages and music so it's something I'm continually working on but it's fun.

Because I had grown up with Jane Austen novels and period dramas, I was very familiar with that period and that world.