The more I read and watched about the meat industry the more determined I became to keep meat out of my diet. The things I saw in slaughterhouse exposes made me feel sick and I refused to just ignore what I now knew.

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.

Three years ago the Government announced the creation of Reconciliation Place and said that it would include a memorial to those removed from their families. However they refused to include any of those who were removed in the design of their own memorial.

I am politically pro-choice but personally pro-life. I have my faith but refuse to force it on the world at large - especially this world so brutal and unjust. I cannot make these wrenching personal life and death decisions for others - nor do I believe they should be made by a church run by childless men.

When I used to do musical theatre my dad refused to come backstage. He never wanted to see the props up close or the sets up close. He didn't want to see the magic.

I came back from university thinking I knew all about politics and racism not knowing my dad had been one of the youngest-serving Labour councillors in the town and had refused to work in South Africa years ago because of the situation there. And he's never mentioned it - you just find out. That's a real man to me. A sleeping lion.

The only reason I'm in Hollywood is that I don't have the moral courage to refuse the money.

Unjust. How many times I've used that word scolded myself with it. All I mean by it now is that I don't have the final courage to say that I refuse to preside over violations against myself and to hell with justice.

I don't want to clip on the armour every morning. I've seen some politicians do this and they get a bit mangled and bitter. I just refuse to do that. I refuse to be angry or bitter or complain and I remain open. I may sometimes be a bit too open but I'm not going to change that one bit.

If there's specific resistance to women making movies I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender and I refuse to stop making movies.