Quotes from Harriet Walter

I'm an oversharer but selective about who I share with.

Where does an actress go after playing Cleopatra's magnificent death? Why didn't Shakespeare write more - and more powerful - roles for mature women?

I've one of those brains that doesn't quieten down.

My strangest experience was my six words in 'Star Wars.' I've had more fanmail from that than anything I've ever done.

Caring less about what people think is a big thing for me.

Male playwrights, on the whole, are probably more interested in male characters. They need women characters to be the women in their lives or to be the domestic difficulty.

Work has been the central column for most of my life; it has always been my identity.

I'm not very good at going to sleep, and that's probably my worst problem. I don't need much more than seven and a half hours, but I probably get six. I take all my problems to bed with me and fret. I can't switch off.

Cleopatra was exhausting to play, but also completely exhilarating. She creates her own energy.

As long as I am still interested and curious I enjoy getting up in the morning, but I can't say I have a happy smile on my face 24/7.

You need to distinguish between getting something off your chest that won't help anyone else or saying something because you know you will be hell to live with if you don't. Quite often, this will be beyond your control.

I'm childish and silly. Most people tease me because I'm a bit daft.

Some people are instantly brilliant. The Kenneth Branaghs of this world are ready-formed actors at 23 - he has used his success in lots of different ways - but there are people out there for whom acting is: 'Ooh, I can get on the telly and be famous.'

Luckily, each generation brings forth great writers, actors, directors, and designers.

I've been blessed with pretty strong stamina and healthy genes, so I'd call myself sensible. I've had regular mammograms ever since I found a lump in my breast when I was 30. Thankfully, all was well.

I came up almost completely through the subsidised theatre. I have never been absolutely at the market interface, where I've got to sell my wares or die - I've always been protected from that.

I was not emotionally mature enough to accept any kind of success when I was young. I needed to go that long route.

I've witnessed the survival of the theatre several times when it was meant to be dying.

I've done a lot of Shakespeare over the years. You start to realise how the plays fit together; he's always using pieces from one and slotting them into others.

As I have got older, I have become easier on myself. It's about realising things can't be perfect.

My centre of who I thought I was was never very consciously about being beautiful or attractive - I think I'm one of those people who's actually grown into their looks.

I read, I gossip, I do crosswords. I think chatting with friends is relaxing. I've picked them up all through my life - if you live long enough, you end up with quite a large circle.

I lived with my mother all my life until she died, and I don't really think I knew her, because I was always using her as my mother, if you know what I mean.

I decided I was going to play Cleopatra as someone with a brain. She's kept Egypt, this tiny country, in a balance of power with the almighty Roman empire, and she's done it through force of personality.