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Obviously we had to study Shakespeare at school, but to be honest, I was not a fan. I found the language very difficult, and I didn't enjoy watching it or studying it. I auditioned five times for the Royal Shakespeare Company early on in my career, and I didn't even get past the first rounds.

I didn't want to be the archetypal sponging brother-in-law, so I didn't go into acting when I got to the States. I thought, 'No, I'll go to school and then I'll be an English teacher; that'll be fun.' But I was horrible as a teacher. As hard as I tried, I just couldn't inspire those kids to take an interest in Milton and Shakespeare and Donne.

When I was around 16 or 17, I got asked to model, but because I was very 'tomboy' at the time, I wasn't interested. But then I had a bit of teenage rebellion, and I saw modeling as an opportunity to get away from school and parents, so I thought, 'OK, maybe I will be a model.'

In the beginning, I didn't know if I was still a model, if I was an actress. I knew I wanted to be an actress, but it was so difficult to be believed.

I was very involved with school by the time I was 15 and wasn't working much as a model.

To me, it's a little odd to ever think 'model into actor.' I modeled once. I was about as far from a decent model as you can possibly be. I did not enjoy the world at all. I fell in my stilettos quite a bit.

When I was young, I did actually model and was much photographed by famous photographers. But I was always a bookworm.

I never wanted to be a model. My modelling career was nothing but a stepping stone to my acting career and that's all I ever saw it as. A pointless rock in the river that has to be stepped on in order to get to the meaningful oasis of acting.

I studied Shakespeare all through high school. Both of my parents teach English and history, so it has always been around my experience as a young man.