Halle Berry

Did you know her before?
Only in passing, like you see people at events or functions and you say hello. I was a fan of her work - I loved her in Blow. We had no rehearsal in this film, we hit the ground running but we bonded through the work, over the days. We did spend a lot of time together shooting those scenes.

Did the fact that your mother was a psychiatric nurse have an effect on your response to the role? I think so and I think that initially that's why I responded so positively to the part: it felt so familiar to me when I first read it because my mother was a nurse in a psych for 35 years - practically all of my life. I was very used to hearing her talking about it and telling me stories. I'd been to her institution many times so it was very familiar, a world that I knew.

And your father was also a hospital attendant. Did that make you feel it was almost destiny bringing you to this role? Yes I do feel that it was destiny, but not because of that. Everything happens for a reason in life, I think.

As a successful African-American woman do you find pressurised by certain expectations?
It's not so much the pressure, but I do take it very seriously. I know they're watching and that other people of colour perhaps get a sense of hope, or maybe it inspires them to achieve their goals and realise their dreams. But I don't get so bogged down with it that it becomes a pressure. I know I'm only one human being and I'm only making one tiny contribution and it's nothing more than that.

Your next film is Catwoman, and it's already attracted some comment about the look of the film I love the look of the film; it's modern, it's edgy, it's very much reflective of the 21st century and who women are today. As for the controversy about the look of the film - you can't please everyone. As I've gotten older, I've learned to accept that and take it with a pinch of salt. I also remind myself that there was a lot of negativity around X-Men, another movie I've been a part of, especially on the Internet from comic book aficionados. Nothing we did on that movie made them happy initially - and then by the end of the second movie they loved it. So we try to remain true to what we were trying to do.

Do you ever re-watch your Oscar speech?
I've watched it two times since that night and mainly the reason I watched it was that I was so out of my body that I didn't remember what I'd said. I felt I talked way too long and I wish I could have edited it. But I also felt it was a great moment for me in my life and I knew that it was about more than me. So I thought maybe it was OK the way it was.

Where do you keep the Oscar?
It's at home but he moves all around the house. Depending on my mood, some days he's on the kitchen table, some days he's in the bathroom, some days he's in the living room. I like to move him around. He's always near.

Gothika is out now.