Changing lives on celluloid

Juliette Binoche chooses only film roles that she believes in, but once she is on board she is utterly committed to finding the heart of her character. For her new film, A Thousand Times Good Night, she immersed herself in the complicated world of the photojournalist.

Juliette Binoche has reached a point in her career, she says, when she wants to choose roles carefully. She has never been afraid to say no, famously turning down Steven Spielberg three times (for Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List) and walking away from the first Mission: Impossible film because she didn't like the script. For her the director is crucial, but so is the message.

"Most of my political engagement is in my choices," she says, by way of explanation. "You cannot speak out and do demonstrations and then choose films that are not related to that. I choose stories that I feel need to be told."