You’re hosting the series Australia: An Unofficial History, which includes government tourism films from the 1970s. How would you sell Australia to the world now?

When people ask me, having lived in Los Angeles for 14 years, how is Australia superior to America, I say, “No guns, free medical, affordable education.”

What’s the oldest thing you own, and why do you still have it?

I’ve got a cane chair that was given to me for my second birthday. I have it in my sitting room, it’s got a little cushion on it and it’s really sweet and very tiny. I’m very small – I’m less than five feet tall, and I’m 48 kilos – so I can still sit in this little chair, and I do! I mean, probably I shouldn’t have sat in it when I was pregnant, I could have broken it. But it survived. I’m 77 and a half, so it’s 75 years old. That’s pretty impressive.

What’s your favourite place to visit in the world?

New York City – I just love it. I’ve been at least 40 times, and I’ve stayed in at least 30 different hotels. I first visited there in 1972 and stayed at the Algonquin Hotel, and for a time I used to go to New York every year. I love how you can walk everywhere. I love how if you really work out your timetable carefully, you can see 10 shows a week: three matinees – on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday – as well as evening shows. And there are great bars. I’m a bit of a barfly – I like to sit in fabulous bars and listen to other people. I love all the gay bars down on eighth and ninth avenue. And then there’s the museums, the libraries, the parks – I think it’s the greatest city in the world.

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I’m not a tantrum thrower, but I remember very early on all the senior actresses and actors saying to me: try not to ever lose your temper, either in a rehearsal room for a play or on set for a TV show or a film, because it only makes you feel worse and it upsets everyone else.

You have a storied romantic history – you once said you’d effectively had nine husbands if you counted serious relationships. What’s your top bit of relationship advice?

Kindness. I remember Germaine Greer saying – and she’s always been a great hero of mine, because of The Female Eunuch – that the most overrated virtue is kindness. But I think it’s the most important virtue, because it influences all the others. My ex-lovers and ex-husbands might disagree, but I’ve always tried to be kind in a relationship.

If you had to fight a famous person, who would it be, how would you fight them and who would win?

I’m a lover, not a fighter. I wouldn’t fight anyone. First of all, I’m so tiny I don’t think I could beat anyone in a fight unless I took a machete or an AK-47. I used to have a bit of a tongue when I was younger [so] I’d like to think I could demolish someone with words. But the people that are dislikable enough to want to fight, they’re usually stupid. So no matter what witticisms you’ve managed to come up with, they’d probably go right over their heads.

Do you have anyone in mind?

I don’t want to get political, but probably politicians. There’s a few politicians that I don’t like.

What are you secretly really good at?

I don’t know, picking up dog poo? I wear gloves, and I’m very neat at it. I live in an apartment block in West Hollywood that has a dog park and the rules are that you pick up your own dog’s poo, but a lot of people don’t – it’s very annoying – and so I do pick up other people’s dogs’ poos. Which is rather like changing another person’s child’s nappy, isn’t it?

I think I’ve got a very tidy mind – I’m a little obsessive compulsive – and I’m married to someone who I love dearly, but he is intrinsically untidy, so I think I’m good at being quietly subversive, going around tidying up.

What’s been your most cringe-worthy run-in with a celebrity?

I don’t know that it’s cringe-worthy, but it’s slightly embarrassing. There’s a very exclusive club [in LA] called San Vicente Bungalows; I’m a member, and I took a friend of mine there for lunch. And this place has rules: you’re not allowed to take photos of people, and if you don’t know someone, you’re not allowed to go up to them and speak to them. We were having lunch, and this young man with a baseball cap on backwards and sunglasses, who had been with a group of noisy boys, came up and said, “I just want to say that I really love your work. I’m a huge fan.” And I said, “Oh, thanks very much” – thinking: I thought you weren’t supposed to come and talk to people you didn’t know. And when he went away, my friend said, “You don’t know who that was, do you?” And I said, “I’ve got no idea.” It was Leonardo DiCaprio. I’ve always been a fan, ever since Gilbert Grape, so I was really annoyed with myself for not recognising him – I would have said, “Oh my God, Leo, thank you!”

Which word do you hate most?

I hate when fashion people say, “Oh, your eyes just pop.” Actually I was reading something about the inauguration in the paper today and somebody was saying there were colours that really “popped”. What do you mean popped? How stupid. I don’t like “reach out” either. People say, “I’ll reach out to your people.” Fuck off! Give me a call or a text.

Do you have a party trick?

I’m not very good at parties, believe it or not. I’m a card-carrying introvert, and my husband is too. I love extroverts – I find them fantastic to be with, because you don’t have to do any work. But when we have to go to parties, my husband and I always find a corner and sit down and talk to each other. Which annoys my manager, who’s like, “Get out there and circulate.” Sometimes I force myself to say, “I think you’re fantastic,” but usually I’m too shy. That’s my trick.

• Australia: An Unofficial History premieres Wednesday 5 March on SBS and SBS On Demand