Quotes from Bel Powley

I was quite academic, quite geeky when I was a kid. I was more interested in going to school than I was in becoming a film star or something.

You have to have really thick skin. Art is obviously there to be criticized and there to be taken in different ways. Not everyone is going to like what you do.

I'm not not a fan of graphic novels, but it's not like one of my pastimes, reading graphic novels.

There's so much pressure on young people to go to university when they're 18 or 19, but actually, in the grand scheme of it, I don't think it matters to do it at that time.

So many times, you get sent scripts where it's, like, the token chick, where the woman is just there to serve the man in the film.

I'm one of those girls that, day-to-day, I'm in trainers or Converse. I have about 50 pairs of trainers, so when I get the chance to dress up, I will definitely be in heels. 100 percent. I might take some battered Converse in my bag to wear at the after-party when my feet are tired.

I had a place to go to university; I was going to study history. I was in New York doing 'Arcadia,' and I suddenly thought, 'It feels a bit weird to go from a New York stage to Manchester University.' It didn't quite feel right.

I grew up with my parents in the kitchen discussing the audition my dad had that day or moaning about something or other in the industry, so it was unglamourised and normalised for me from a very young age.

We try to push such crazy ideals onto young women: the Hollywood version of what they should look like, what they should do, and the kind of Prince Charming they should be looking for. We should just be proud of who we are, because we can't be anybody else. So what's the point of trying?

I feel confident that I'm presenting myself in a feminist way that is good for young women.

If you're doing something like 'Arcadia' by Tom Stoppard, which has been done millions and millions of times, and it's been played some unbelievably well-respected actors, there's a lot more pressure there. But I try not to think about all the other people who have done it before me. You've got to try and be original.

Let's just say musicals aren't really my thing!

All my friends were off on gap years, so going to New York alone, at the age of 18, was kind of my flying the nest. It was an amazing experience.

I don't feel like I properly started acting until I did my first play, 'Tusk, Tusk.'

I was doing one of my first plays at the Royal Court, and Matt LeBlanc came to see the play. He came backstage afterwards, and I couldn't speak. I kept trying to, but no words came out. I just kept thinking, 'That's Joey from 'Friends.' That's actual Joey from 'Friends!'' It was so embarrassing!

I started acting when I was young, and I didn't go to drama school. It was always something that I did alongside going to school and being a normal person.

I'm so open to different things. The only thing I'd say is I've set the bar pretty high in terms of good female roles with 'Diary,' and I want to continue in that vein.

I loved history and Eastern European politics.

I'm not saying I only want to work with female directors. But I want to continue to work with emerging female directors.