Cultural Life: Julia Stiles, actress

Television: I love HBO's 'In Treatment'. Starring Gabriel Byrne, the drama follows a psychologist's sessions with both his patients and his own therapist. I find it interesting to watch how the psychological dynamics filter through the characters; my interest in psycho-analysis was what made me want to become an actor. I also love 'Treme', an American drama series set in New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina. My guilty pleasure, however, is VH1's reality show 'Basketball Wives'; there's a lot of cat fights!

Film: I saw 'Blue Valentine' and found it heart-breakingly good. Michelle Williams performs with such ease and naturalness, and Ryan Gosling was excellent at portraying a charming but flawed character. I also recently saw the film cut of Ingmar Bergman's 'Scenes from a Marriage'. A great movie, there is a real honesty to the way the story is told.

Theatre: I saw Craig Wright's 'Mistakes Were Made' on Broadway. The one-man play stars Michael Shannon as a theatrical producer struggling to get a play on to Broadway. Although the audience only hears one side of a series of phone calls, the narrative was easy to follow, which is a real testimony to Michael Shannon.

Books: I just finished Jonathan Franzen's novel 'Freedom', and really enjoyed it. I'm now reading a collection of Herman Melville's short stories. Music The Fleet Foxes' latest album 'Helplessness Blues' is great, and I love the well-crafted lyrics and uplifting melodies of Nashville singer Caitlin Rose; it's great break-up music. I also saw dream-pop duo Beach House perform in New York. Standing at the front of the stage, the vocalist Victoria Legrand dragged her hair across the piano as she played.

Season 5 of 'Dexter' is on Fridays at 10pm on FX