Sienna Miller's Hollywood career has flourished in the past few years, in a move she attributes to having a baby.

The 32-year-old actress says that becoming a mum to two-year-old Marlowe, her daughter with actor boyfriend Tom Sturridge, has forced casting agents and others involved in the movie industry to take her more seriously. She also says that it's helped her to crack that all-elusive "upper echelon" of high-profile film directors.

"People who read the negative things [about me], the people who need persuading, are probably ignorant enough to assume, 'Well she’s got a kid so she’s serious now,'" she tells the Guardian, in an interview out this week. "Which, of course, isn’t the case. I’m still whoever I was. Maybe more mature, but the same. So amongst that ignorant, ridiculous area of my industry, I’m sure opinions of me have changed because I’m a mother now."

"I think having a baby really changed everything, if I’m honest," she continues. "I think that’s where it began. The stakes are higher. You have someone that you want to be proud of you eventually. Motherhood also gave her a sense of time running out. You’re aware of your own mortality. For me, as soon as I had a baby I had a vision of my life – and what was left of it."

'You have someone that you want to be proud of you' Sienna Miller on how motherhood has helped boost her movie career