Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I like being free to take on any project that inspires me and to trust that the work will speak for itself.

This is going to sound really sad, but I didn't really have any heartthrobs when I was growing up. I was a bit of a geek.

Watching and learning from the great Josette Bushell-Mingo, who was playing Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the time, and then to return to the same stage six months later playing a lead role, was incredible - I fell in love with the poetry and the breadth of the language so much that I didn't want it to end.

You've got to find a way to relate to people. I just did an improvised episode for Joe Swanberg's new Netflix show, 'Easy,' and it was a huge learning curve for me and taught me so much about fear and courage. But when you're present in the moment, the audience, it's incomparable.