I wanted to go to drama school, but when I got the part in 'Falling,' I got an agent, so it seemed a good idea to work. I always did a lot of singing and dancing, so I am glad it worked out that way. I would like to study stage acting at some point, though.
Florence Pugh
We're learning things every decade we grow through, and ultimately, you do end up with a different way of looking at things.
I'm a bit of a gypsy. I live everywhere; I live out of a bag.
The Kate Winslet thing has been a shocker. I was like, that is the most ridiculous claim. Amazing, obviously. She's been my idol since I re-enacted 'Titanic' and fell in love with Leo. And it's a privilege to be called the next anything. But I suppose to be the next you is all you can do.
I think there's always some good reason to try and modernize most period things, because at the end of the day, they may have, I suppose, used a different language or a different etiquette, but ultimately, these are still people that loved and breathed and lived and ate and weed and pooed just like we do now.
I don't want to feel like I have to change myself or my image.
What's important is to listen before you react.
'Lady Macbeth' is a great opportunity for me to prove that maybe the outcome of 'The Falling' was not necessarily a fluke.
I hope to create characters that people want to watch - and they either want to be or are, or it's something that they recognize.
It's always shocking when you see a modern woman in a period story line. It doesn't make sense.
Wearing a corset is extremely uncomfortable.
I found out I got 'The Little Drummer Girl' and my BAFTA nomination in quick succession, and I just didn't expect it to be like that. I thought there would be a lot more time in between. It's been an overwhelming experience.
You are hugely responsible for people following you. You need to work out why you are posting, what the message is, and what you are doing to these people.
What I've noticed about Hollywood is, if you go out there shouting about who you are, they will love you for it. But if you go out not knowing what it is that you're representing, and you are just a canvas, they will make you into the thing they need you to be.
If people are noticing the hard work I'm doing, then that's a wonderful thing.
With 'Lady Macbeth,' I had two other things offered to me, and they would have also been very fun, but you just have to figure that out. And then you do it.
I do like a bit of danger. Guns, cars, running, bullets. I'm up for it.
If I can make my mark just a little bit, then great.
I love all of Kate Winslet's characters. And Natalie Portman. If I can have a smidgen of what they've done, that would be awesome.
'The Silence of the Lambs' is my favourite book, favourite film.
For me, it's always been so obvious that the less we can edit our lives and more we show how normal we all are, the better.
In order for us to appreciate this world, we have to be a bit more honest, and I hope I do that.
During the Me Too breakthrough, I was hanging out with Emma Thompson and Emily Watson - two people I've looked up to my entire life. Talking to those women was so empowering.
What audiences love with series is that they can invest in characters for such a long period of time, and it's the same for actors. You can truly tell your story; then it's done.
I know that my way of tackling a character is very different.
Something that I've always been really keen on representing is some honesty with the way that we view ourselves. That's something I've always appreciated watching actors that I've looked up to, is when they look like you and me, or they have a funny elbow, or they have, you know, a hairy face.
There's always going to be pressure, and there's always going to be an area where you disappoint. As a storyteller, you have to understand that.
Do we need to have a female Bond? Couldn't we just make something new?
If you look at it, the corset is a very beautiful item, but when I put one on, I realized how little you could actually move. And I'm a very physical person: I talk with my hands. And I felt how the clothes took that away from me. And that was the idea, I think. It was a way of limiting women.
Why aren't there these epic roles for women, for whatever age you are?
What we don't realise when we watch a normal film is how many times someone has run in just before a shot quickly to wipe away that sweaty moustache. You never see a normal spot, a bag under the eye or an unplucked eyebrow, because that's not how Hollywood works.
We tend to kind of write women out of history.
Sometimes in the real world, there is fire between people.
Everybody's story of getting into the industry is just as difficult as the next person. Whether you come from money or no money, it's not easy... you have to offer yourself; you can't expect someone to get you.
My characters do have some fantastic taste in men.
Why shouldn't there be more epic, brilliant female characters onscreen?
I've tried not to get too bogged down by what people want you to be.
Playing Paige, I felt I had to train to wrestle.
I was acting with all my childhood heroes: Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, all of those amazing women.
I think it's good to not edit your life too much, or you give people different standards.
Every time 'Lady Macbeth' and everyone involved in the film gets nominated, it's amazing.
In 'Fighting With My Family,' there's a scene where I have to wrestle; I have to do the famous fight between Paige and AJ Lee. We actually did perform it in front of all those thousands of people. And just beforehand, we had a little dress rehearsal, and there were all these famous wrestlers going around and watching as well. Terrifying.
I don't think I'm going to be an international sex symbol. I mean, I know I'm not going to be an international sex symbol.
My dad still collects newspaper clippings about me.
If you ever want to be interrogated, get Michael Shannon to do it. He's an amazing man. I loved working with him.
I grew up in a very loud and dramatic household, and we loved being in the spotlight.
I remember being about six years old, for the first day of school, and sitting in the back of a Chrysler, pretending to cry while listening to Tracy Chapman.
I think it's so interesting which ways your career can go. I would have been a completely different actor doing a completely different story, and I would have missed 'Lady Macbeth.'
The women I'm attracted to playing I hope will mean something to someone.
I love watching faces as they grow up. It's the difference between so many strong British actresses compared to what America does to women. I like a face that hasn't been tampered with.
