ENJOY MAKING THE FILM?
It was very hard graft, a low budget film, and we were in this extraordinary location and a situation that was like life imitating art-or the other way round. The town we were shooting in had actually been through the same story. These people were victims of the Thatcher years. Their mine had been flattened literally in a day, and I think their lives were flattened as a consequence.

GRIM UP NORTH?
They have this incredibly sharp sense of humour still. It's Northern humour, fairly dark.

HOW DID THEY RESPOND TO A FILM CREW TURNING UP ON THEIR DOORSTEP?
A couple of years ago, some documentary makers went up there and seduced them, and said, "We're going to make this documentary about what's happened to your town and sympathetically portray you all." But they did the opposite, they actually betrayed them. They were very nervous when we first arrived on the scene, because we were telling them the same thing. When they relaxed, things got a lot easier.

DID IT INFLUENCE YOUR PERFORMANCE?
Definitely. As an actor, you're thrown into these extraordinary situations and part of the job is to be some sort of sponge, to absorb the energy of the place, the vibe, or the people you're supposed to be portraying, so it was invaluable in that respect. And, because I was moved by them, I wanted to honour them.

WHAT WAS EWAN (MCGREGOR-HER CO-STAR) LIKE TO WORK WITH?
He's a top man. I'm really happy that he's doing so well.

BIG EGO?
No. He's a cool guy, and he seems to be taking it in his stride. He's got it sorted.

PETER POSTLETHWAITE'S A BIT OF A LEGEND.
He's an amazing talent. I feel really honoured when I can work with people like that. You do feel like you're watching a master-just the ease with which he does things.

PLAYING OPHELIA IN '95 ON BROADWAY WITH RALPH FIENNES-GOOD FUN?
I would have gone along as a spearcarrier just for the experience of being on Broadway. We were playing to packed houses, all the stars came to see it. That was a great buzz.

HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR PARTS?
For me, no matter how good the script is, if I don't have a rapport with the director, it's not worth very much. And I like films that are emotional, really. Quite often the films I've done have an old-fashioned feel to them, like Hear My Song. When I was a little girl, I loved the Saturday afternoon matinees, great old films from the glory days of Hollywood: Audrey Hepburn films, all the musicals.

THERE'S A DIRTY RUMOUR THAT YOU BECAME A BRASS BAND FAN WHILE MAKING THE FILM.
I really did. It was'nt a sound that I thought I liked. I had very set ideas about it; I think most people do. They associate it with, oh I don't know, it's just a strange genre.

SO WHAT'S THE APPEAL?
I walked in to watch them recording the soundtrack at Abbey Road and I could'nt believe it. This well of feeling just came up. It's so moving, it really does wrap around you.

YOU WORKED WITH A REAL COLLIERY BAND DURING THE MAKING OF THE FILM. HOW WAS THAT?
All the actors were quite nervous about whether they'd take to us or not, whether they'd feel a bit peculiar about us swamping them. But they were really cool, just good blokes. It's so incongruous when you see these swarthy big guys pick up an instrument and suddenly this beautiful, mellifluous tone comes out.

HAS HOLLYWOOD'S TUBA SOUNDED FOR YOU YET?
If a good script came along, a nice role, then I'd go and do it. But I don't have a mission. I'm not looking for a beeline to get there. At the moment, the parts I'm being asked to play are so good there's no reason to go anywhere else.