In the past, I had a knee-jerk approach to work, and it showed on screen. I was doing movies for the wrong reasons - trying to juggle dates, do too many guest appearances, take up projects under pressure or for emotional reasons.
If you start to disrespect the character you're playing, or play it too much for laughs, that can work for a sketch, it will sell some gags, but it's all technique. It's like watching a juggler - you can be impressed by it, but it's not going to touch you in any way.
For me, juggling mommyhood and work is a challenge, but each day I learn little tricks to make it all come together.
For some reason, juggling things makes everything work better. That's just how we operate. It just makes the other project more of something to look forward to. I think the more you keep things going, the more it helps the other project.
I work better when I'm juggling projects. Nothing worse than watching someone really embrace what they're doing if they love it too much.
A large amount of constant activity will get things going. For example, training in the morning will have everything, all the juices flowing by the time you actually get to work. So, when you're at work, you've been already up for an hour or so or two hours, and you're raring to go where everyone else is still wiping sleep out of their eyes.
I don't do the media because of 'Woo-woo, Julia Butterfly,' as I call it. I'm not into promoting me. I'm into talking about why I've done what I've done, why I continue to do this work and why other people should care.
I would love to work with Julia Roberts at some point.
I have a treadmill, and I work out with my trainer, Julie Diamond, as often as possible. She's so positive.
When I wrote 'Noughts and Crosses', I was halfway through it when I realised this was very like 'Romeo and Juliet'... as long as you make it your own, and put your own spin on it, I think it's brilliant to use other great work to find your own voice.
I first came to Mumbai when I was very young. My mom is from here, and dad always had some work around here, so Mumbai always felt like a second home. I moved here when I was 16 and went to junior college here as well.
I remember once in junior high school, on a Friday, my mom came home from work and said to my brother and I, 'You know, between us, we have only 27 cents, but we have food in the refrigerator, we have our little garden out back, and we're happy, so we are rich.'
I mean, if somebody said to me, junior year of college, you can go anywhere, your old man's paying for it, I'd have been gone in a flash. But I had to work. Every summer my mother would say, 'Get that job and hold on to it until August 30.'
My father was a genius footballer, a natural, two-footed centre-forward who had played for Arsenal juniors, but he was sent out to work aged 14 and so lived out his life in a frustrated, rageful way.
Eat all the junk food you want - as long as you cook it yourself. That way, it'll be less junky, and you won't eat it every day because it's a lot of work.
My ideal relaxation is working on upholstry. I spend hours in junk shops buying furniture. I do all the upholstery work myself, and it's like therapy.
Jupiter, Pluto, pick a planet: we can go there. I just got a bit more work to do in the music industry, and we're going to space, baby.
Dig just a little bit deeper. Work just a little bit harder. And don't get weary! Remember this is personal! Let's finish what we started, and re-elect President Barack Obama!
Just be yourself and be upfront about your expectations and desires. Don't be ambiguous and play hard to get. It doesn't work. You'll end up in the friend zone.
Just be yourself. Be honest, work towards a goal, and you'll achieve it.
