I talk to myself a lot. Talk and talk and talk. And mumble. I let it creep in a little bit every day. I go away from it and come back to it. I'm always looking for the breath of the person, the ache that's inside them. I can sense that then I've got a wee chance of finding out what's underneath. What's the thing that's missing? I'm looking for the sweet agony of the character. I'm always trying to sense that in my body. And then it sneaks up on me. The day arrives and you feel like that person. You're sitting like them. Your voice has got the hint of them. I get into trouble for observing people. But that's what actors do! You're soaking up emotions all the time. Soaking it up and letting it settle, not worrying about it any more. That all comes from Michael Winterbottom's trust. You become the person and talk like them and then you can hit the script and play.

I wasn't into Bob Dylan at all before - I knew who he was but I didn't realise how beautiful his songs are, how tender his lyrics are. Conor McPherson really opened up that world for me. The beauty of the melodies send shivers through me. So I've come to Dylan late but I finally got here. I wasn't brought up with music like that - I think we had three albums in our house. But there was lots of singing in our house too.

I reckon so. Though I suspect that Hamish had a couple of little flings. They probably had three or four children. She probably started her own newspaper. They'll have had problems along the way but it's all worked out OK. They properly had the hots for each other!

Extraordinary! We filmed in Denmark - it was a very relaxed family atmosphere. Really nice people. I was so much smaller than everyone - small and dark! We were there for maybe four-six weeks. There was a delicate, gentle feeling to the process. It was a delightful experience, even though it's quite sad material.

I like building sandcastles when the sun is going down and you're all alone on the beach. Snowmen remind me of long winters when I was young and gathering on the waste ground with gangs of other kids to build snowmen. I can't choose!

I've met Billy Bragg but just for a couple of hours. He was lovely but I don't know all his work!

My advice? Be prepared for the long haul. It can be up and down. Don't take it too seriously. If you have a rubbish audition just shrug it off. Try and enjoy it and make the most of it. Some of these jobs are long. Be open to what other people will give you. I used to over-prepare before a job. Ultimately, when the filming is happening - or once the show is up - that's when it's happening. So you need to be open to what can happen in the moment. It might be something magical.

I do remember you grinning at me like an eejit! And I thought you were lovely.

Girl from the North Country changes slightly every night. There's a framework, a shape, but depending on how I'm feeling - strong or frail, tired or mischievous - things can change. It depends what people are giving me back on stage. That's nice - it keeps it fresh. And a lot of the dancing changes and is improvised. In rehearsals my character was bigger, bolder, more feisty. So now it's about letting vulnerability in. I still get nervous, sometimes I'm surprised by my nerves. You try to keep it in the moment: it's how I'm feeling that day. I like that. We worked with a movement director and were encouraged to play as well. With my character there needs to be a freedom, a sexuality, a longing and aching. So I experimented with that. They're all fantastic actors who like to play. It feels real. This is how close we are tonight. That's what keeps you going back night after night. I haven't done anything musical since college, 30 years ago, so it's very different for me. And it's tough! We all get tired and some days you do think it would nice to just go shopping instead. But we all look forward to seeing what will happen in the show.

I won't! I wasn't in Paddington 1 or 2. Are you thinking of Sally Hawkins?! She is amazing.

I was very quiet at school but I was the crazy one at home when I was young - screaming at the top of my head, dressing up. But at school I would run away if a boy said hello to me. I do laugh a lot. I'm a giggler. Sometimes on stage we get the giggles because we've been doing it so long. In general, I'm very happy. I do have a quiet sad side to me like everybody. But in general I try to think that there's a lot still left to do in life. I like to think there are things around the corner that I have no idea about yet.

I think The Broons. But I haven't read them for years. They do conjure up my childhood...

Curry or Chinese? It depends. I like deep-fried shredded beef chili. Salt and pepper king prawns. I had the best curry of my life in Nottingham when Shane Meadows took us out when we were doing Once Upon a Time in the Midlands.

Yeah, I'll go out for dinner!

Make You Feel My Love. It's a ballad and we only have a tiny bit of it in the show but during rehearsals lots of different people sang different bits of it to try it out. It's such a beautiful song. He has written so many beautiful songs but there's a tenderness to it that is just gorgeous.

Everything! Happy Valley was a job that I said yes to immediately. I was sent three scripts out of the six. I didn't know what the character's journey would be. I went to college with Sarah Lancashire years ago so it was nice to work together. Sally Wainwright had done an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew a few years before which I was in. I didn't know what my character's outcome would be in Happy Valley but Sally's writing is so exquisite that I knew it would be interesting. Sally is a very gentle director, quietly giving you hints of things, trusting that you have the character inside you. And Sarah was phenomenal. She's at the top of her game.

My most cherished role is Debbie in Wonderland by Michael Winterbottom. He's an amazing director. He improvises on film. You research and prepare for a character but once the camera turns he plays with the script. You improvise and improvise. The freedom is mind-blowing. I'd never come across that. I'd spend every day working with him if I could. Wonderland really captured the night life of London, being alone in London...

In terms of characters I'd dream of playing, I really just see what happens. There's no list!

Working with Mike Leigh was extraordinary. It really opened up my world in film. We did a lot of improvising and research, building a character from scratch but also looking for clues into her, finding local hints about her life. She liked a little drink - that gave me a feeling that I was able to take into the dressing room scene. Leonora Braham had a lot of sadnesses in her life. Mike gave me the confidence to try things, and then guided me. It was a different way of filming all together. It was six months of my life. You have to keep everything very close to your chest, you don't know the whole world that's being created, just your own bit.

I think i was more scared than him! He was lovely - I couldn't have asked for a nicer job. When I was working with him they only filmed him because I had done my green-screen scenes. We did film in the big bath together. It was a fun afternoon.

The clues are in the book! She's an old woman in a young girl's body and feels things way beyond her years. She very much in love with Harry and can do nothing about it. I was given a day's notice for the audition so I quickly read a few chapters of the book. My sister was living with me, she knew about the book. So I tested out the voice on her and she said that was what was in her head for that character. It's really about the voice and the emotion - i tried to hold on to that for the whole process, which lasted months. And it's all green screen so you have to conjure up all this emotion with no one there. It was great fun, very exciting... And quite painful! They stuck me up on bicycle seats up in the gods so it looked like i was flying. I'm so grateful - it was so unexpected.