RBG: Suppose I had gotten a job as a permanent associate. Probably I would have climbed up the ladder, and today, I would be a retired partner. So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.

FJ: You always have setbacks in life and I’ve always found the setbacks have made me a bit stronger. They have made me think: if this isn’t going to work, I [need to] adapt and find another way. That’s definitely something I’ve learnt from RBG – that the world isn’t always going to be on your side.

Being an actress, your career is formed from being rejected and criticised. You have to be quite punk about it: “Bring it on, you’re just going to make me stronger.” Women have written to me after coming out of the film saying, ‘Because of [RBG] I feel like I can do anything.’ Everything was stacked against her and if she can do it you think, ‘Well, I should be able to do it!’ We mustn’t lose sight that we as individuals can effect change no matter who we are. We do have to stand up and be heard. That’s what RBG shows us. Don’t be scared.

Stylist: That can be quite intimidating…

FJ: Yes, but the more I read interviews with other actresses who are being vocal and honest with their experiences the more I think it gives everyone confidence. We have to create a culture of support and not a competitive one of pitting women against another – that’s starting to feel really old-fashioned. It’s about there being a collaborative spirit and not a competitive one; we’re not in a Fifties pageant.

Felicity Jones on the most important life lessons that Ruth Bader Ginsburg taught her