Definitely they write themselves. It's an amazing experience. It's like the characters have come alive and are sitting on my shoulder talking to me telling me their tales.

I think one of the coolest things about the job is the level of trust we have for each other. The actors fully trust that the writers will write amazing episodes and the writers trust that the actors will follow their instincts with the characters.

Moby Dick - that book is so amazing. I just realized that it starts with two characters meeting in bed that's how my book begins too but I hadn't noticed the parallel before two characters forced to share a bed reluctantly.

'Aladdin' was probably my favorite Disney animation when I was a kid. The animation was great and Robin Williams was unbelievable as the Genie. 'Aladdin' was an amazing adventure and the lead character was a hero for guys which I loved. It wasn't a princess or a girl beating the odds it was a street rat. That seemed really cool to me.

With most British actors it's amazing. I think they start with the character on the outside and work in.

We start 'The Butler' in June and that's incredibly exciting for me because I get to work with the amazing Forest Whitaker again. It's a phenomenal script and a great great role - I play his son. Oprah Winfrey is his wife and my mother. My character is a radical civil rights activist.

I filmed 'Albatross' before I got 'Downton.' It's a coming-of-age movie about this girl who leaps into this family's life like a whirlwind. She's ballsy and brash and wonderful it was such an amazing character to play.

I decided to give acting a serious committed try and soon after I read the script for 'Lovely and Amazing.' The story was beautiful and honest and the characters struggled with the same insecurities many women - including me - face. I didn't think I had a chance in hell of being in the film but I knew I had to go for it.

My size has helped make me an amazing performer too. The cliche of the Funny Fat Friend: I absolutely was that character - I am that character... It's a complicated bag of tools I acquired and I've put them all to work onstage.

As a kid I always loved serialized books. It's the reason why people love 'Harry Potter.' Serialization is amazing. It works in television. It works in film and it works in books. Especially when you're a young kid you get attached to these characters.