Gemma Arterton

I'm looking at working with people I get on with, that respect me, that don't just see me as a piece of ass. Which I have experienced as well. I've nearly walked off very big films before, and I would, because I don't want that in my life. I want to enjoy the work I do.

My mother, she had a very good attitude toward money. I'm very grateful for the fact that we had to learn to save. I used to get like 50 pence a week, and I'd save it for like five months. And then I'd spend it on Christmas presents. I'd save up like eight pounds. It's nothing, but we did that.

Because of my Asian-ness, I couldn't be anonymous - what I said, what I ate, what I did at the weekend were startlingly different to what everyone else did. I was also a performer, quick and chameleon-like, good at accents, so that made me stand out.