Emily Watson thinks "you have to be a bit of an idiot to be an actor"

Speaking to the Observer newspaper, Emily recalled: "I was very, very green and I was just going where I was told. I don't think I ever had an instinct for it; you either have or you haven't.

"I think I'm good at what I do because I'm an idiot. You have to be a bit of an idiot to be an actor."

Asked to elaborate on her comments, Emily explained: "Well, at some level, it's like being a small kid when you believe in Santa. Somewhere inside you - or this is how I do it anyway - I really believe it.

"Obviously, not all of me thinks that, because I know that, you know, my son needs some school shoes or whatever. But that allows you to abandon yourself to something in a way that is really quite stupid. In a good way, I think."

Emily acknowledges that acting work doesn't provide much stability or certainty. But the movie star actually finds the uncertainty to be "quite exciting", admitting that she has a "great life".

The actress shared: "It is quite exciting, except for the fact that I'm in my 50s and I've got teenagers and a house and a dog. And sometimes you go: 'God, I wish they'd told me when I was 22 that I'd be living out of a suitcase my entire life.' But I'm not complaining, because it's a great life, and I love it."