Lauren Bacall in To Have And To Have Not Enough
"I love Lauren Bacall. In To Have And To Have Not , she's absolutely stunning. And the connection she has with Humphrey Bogart is incredible.
"Such a good woman. Such as strong female actress. She has a command of the camera, a command of your attention."
Rita Hayworth in Gilda
" Gilda is one of my favourite movies. Rita Hayworth is just magnetic. In a time when the acting can be so stifled and so awkward, she just transcends the genre and transcends the generation she was making those movies in. She's so ahead of her time."
Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider
"I was very moved by old classics, but what really got me was independent film. There was a movie theatre in downtown Austin, where I'm from, and they have a small independent arthouse cinema.
"I used to pass the time there, see two or three movies in a row. I remembered watching movies like Whale Rider and I was so moved by these stories. It struck me how powerful the medium is."
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth
"I think that there are some actresses today that are really making waves, but I think Cate Blanchett has got something special.
"Particularly in Elizabeth , I think she was so powerful in that movie. There's a grace in her presence and she makes choices that I really admire and respect."
Rita Hayworth in The Lady From Shanghai
"This is also Rita Hayworth. There's something, about her in this movie by Orson Welles... I think there's an effortless elegance there that we don't have today, because we're preoccupied by explosions.
"But that can be fun too! Hence, my movie, Drive Angry ..."
