Kristin Scott Thomas: Why my damehood matters

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas is thrilled to have made her family proud by being honoured by the British monarch.

Last month the 54-year-old actress received a damehood from Queen Elizabeth II, who she will be portraying on the stage in play The Audience, at London's Buckingham Palace.

The title is an achievement which Kristen is over the moon about, but more so thanks to the reaction of her relatives.

"I'm a dame! Oh, yeah! I want to put that on my phone," she laughed to British Vogue. "Awards are very nice, but you can be nominated and nominated, and often nothing much happens. While this is really thrilling - not just for me but for my mum and my children and my uncle in the Royal Navy, this makes them all so proud."

Kristin landed her breakthrough role in 1988's A Handful of Dust and has since gone on to wow in features such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, The English Patient and The Other Boleyn Girl.

It seems performing was always a passion of hers, as she recalled her early experiences with drama.

"I knew I was an actress even when I was tiny," she smiled. "I was playing cowboys and Indians with my brothers and sisters, and when I got shot I remember thinking, now is this how one would really fall?"

The star follows in a fellow dame's footsteps with her portrayal of the queen; Helen Mirren currently embodies the royal in the New York Broadway version of The Audience and has played her on the big screen.

But Kristin doesn't feel any pressure taking on the main role in the London West End version.

"Actually, not at all," says Scott Thomas emphatically. "I see this as my interpretation of the queen, and I certainly don't want to step into her shoes literally. I am having all new costumes made for me."