My mum worked as a secretary for Christian Dior. She looked like a movie star.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I grew up with a tribe of amazing women, but certainly my mother and my godmother really modeled women as actors.
I once worked with Emma Thompson's mother, Phyllida Law. I worked with her on a BBC drama, and she was hilarious. I loved her so much, and she was great to work with.
I think of myself more as a character actor than that ingenue leading lady, who started out something like Michelle Pfeiffer, or Jessica Lange. I'm a bit quirkier than that.
My grandmother is this amazingly theatrical woman. She acted like a movie star, as far as looks and attitude, kind of like Susan Hayward.
My dad was a keen actor when he was young; my auntie is heavily involved in amateur dramatics back in Northern Ireland, and my great aunt was a woman called Greer Garson.
I was always observing my siblings and hearing stories about their lives that turned out to be helpful as an actress.
I was watching 'Up In The Air' and I thought, 'Jesus, who's the old gray-haired guy?' And it was me. I never wear makeup for movies and now it's starting to show.
When I was hired to write and direct a movie, my Christian duty suddenly became quite clear: My primary duty as a Christian in Hollywood is to do my job well.
My mom wasn't a movie star.
My mother is a pastor. I think she has her moments where she's like, 'Dani, what are you getting into,' but at the end of the day, she really supports me as an actor.