Angry actress Juliet Stevenson

Juliet Stevenson says being humiliated made her determined to become a successful actress.

The 'Truly Madly Deeply' star was "torn to sheds" during her time at acclaimed London drama school RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), as the director of their production of 'Cleopatra' didn't feel she was good enough for the lead role.

She said: "I was this skinny pale inexperienced schoolgirl, and it must have been quite tough for this director to get a Cleopatra out of me. He just tore me to shreds. And I remember thinking, 'I've got two options. I can run out of the building, go off to university and be a lawyer. Or burst into tears and get drunk and take a month to recover.' "

Instead of hiding from her problems, Juliet decided to use her anger in her performance.

She said: "I was filled with rage that anybody would humiliate me like that. I could feel this power coming up from somewhere I didn't know existed and coming out through everything, and I remember thinking, 'Great, this is it, it's like flying!' And at the end he said, 'Thank you very much, that's more like it.' "