The hardest part when I decided to move into acting was trusting I'd made the right decision.
Caitriona Balfe
I think the first role I ever played was Mr. Bumble in a production of 'Oliver.'
I was at a restaurant in Glasgow, and I was walking down the stairs. A woman passed me and said, 'Oh my God, what are you doing here?' I didn't know who she was, and I was like, 'Sorry?' She goes, 'Oh no, sorry, I follow you on Twitter. I just didn't expect to see you here.'
It's great to play someone who's so unafraid of being who she is.
So often, women are there just to be looked at and be objectified for the titillation of the male audience.
While 'Outlander' is a brilliant period show, Claire represents so many qualities of a 10th century modern-day woman: someone who is forging her own path, fighting for what she believes, and doing so with integrity.
It's true, you never forget your first love, and, for me, that will always be Paris.
Glasgow has truly become my home away from home.
How do people move on after they've lost the love of their life? It's a really interesting thing to look at. It happens to people every day: you see people... even in the worst, most war-torn places, people get up and continue with their lives. And it's a fascinating thing about human nature. That ability to just continue on.
Doesn't everyone hate Kristen Stewart?
When I was a kid, I loved 'Little Women.'
For me, if I have the choice between an extra 45 minutes in bed or getting up at 4:30 A.M. to go to the gym, I will always choose bed.
There is a moment in your story when you can pinpoint the exact time you fell in love, be it with a place or a person. I can remember both like it was yesterday.
The Scottish Highlands are incredible. There seems to be magic and poetry everywhere.
When we think about the past, we think, 'It must have been so boring.' It's actually not.
I enjoyed L.A. because it was nice to be in the sunshine and live in a house with proper wardrobes. I loved the space.
I have two incredible sisters who have very high-powered jobs and kids and, you know, both have their master's; one runs triathlons all the time.
I think every credit you get and every film you have your name attached to makes things a little bit easier. It definitely opens doors up, but it's still a grind.
Kenzo were celebrating their 30th anniversary, and they did this big, huge show in Paris and invited back all the models who'd walked for them in the 30-year era. How I found myself in the mix, I'll never know.
Fandom is amazing.
'Game of Thrones' has multiple story lines, multiple countries, and it's complete fantasy.
New York's definitely got my heart.
I didn't start traveling abroad until I was 17, but I spent many summers on the beaches of Donegal in Ireland.
I saw a documentary on the Naadam festival that happens in Mongolia during the summer. One of the features of it is a horse race across the plains that all the young men enter - some as young as 12 years old. It's such a spectacular sight. It's incredible to think that this is a tradition that has been going on for centuries.
The herbalist I met a few times - it was great - she gave me literature about the different processes that an herbalist would do to make medicines from certain herbs and things.
Modelling wasn't a passion of mine, so that made it get old kind of quickly. I was getting very frustrated.
I would've been a really big silent movie star.
When I was 18, I left Dublin and moved to Paris. I didn't speak French. I didn't know anyone. I felt like a fish out of water.
Many children with cancer in the developing world can be cured. But without appropriate treatment, few survive.
I would love to do some theater.
I would love to direct - or try my hand at it, anyway.
When I'm not on a crazy schedule, I'll try to do yoga or the gym once or twice a week.
I moved to Paris for two years, then to London, then New York in 2002. In that time, I also lived in Japan, Italy, Germany - I've been a bit of a gypsy.
I never thought of myself doing period. When you're in your acting classes, and you think about the kind of roles you want to play, it's always 'modern relationship drama'-type things.
I grew up in Ireland, and there were so many things we believed in.
It's a hard thing to imagine how somebody copes with grief and at the same time has to build a new life.
You'll probably find most models are incredibly insecure about their bodies.
I guess I always leaned to the theatrical.
The idea was always to be an actor.
I'm kind of a private person.
I'm just so glad that I started acting when I did because I had this wealth of life experience. I don't know if I'd have been able to handle it had I gone out to L.A. at 22.
I think women today are really struggling with these dual roles: How do you have a full-time career and be ambitious and still take care of your family?
The 'Outlander' fans are super-passionate.
With a male-centric show, the women are usually very two-dimensional.
There's definitely stories I would like to tell; I'd like to see more films focusing on women's lives.
Every so often, we - women in film and TV - get annoyed and frustrated. We kick up a fuss and make some gains. But then we become complacent, and things slide backwards again until the next generation comes up and gets frustrated again.
The people who used to hold the purse strings were a select group of white, middle-aged men, but that's changing, and the more it continues to change, the more we'll see inclusive stories get told.
