Shirley Henderson

I never get the tall, blonde, glamorous roles because I'm not tall, blonde and glamorous. I'm more the wee, disturbing characters because of the way I look or sound.

American scripts are usually non-stop conversation. People talking over each other. I like that.

I like doom and gloom with a sense of humour. Maybe it's a Scottish thing, we like to undercut indulgence with a laugh.

If you have a block of ballistics gelatin and a high-speed camera, pretty soon somebody gets a gun!

I studied international relations and economics at the University of Virginia. I paid my way by working as a bartender in the summer and at three part-time jobs during the year.