Nicole Kidman, Margaret Forster, Cloud Atlas

Nicole Kidman has taken on two emotionally challenging roles in the psychological horror Stoker and the thriller The Paperboy. She talks to Mark Lawson about her decision to take risks with the roles she chooses and why she never googles herself.

David Mitchell's award-winning novel, Cloud Atlas, consists of six interweaving stories set in different times - from a slave on a 19th century ship, to a composer in 1930s England, to a clone in 22nd century Korea, to a tribe in a post-apocalyptic 24th century. It's now been turned into a film, written, produced and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski (of Matrix fame) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The film version features a set of lead actors including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Grant, who all play different roles in each of the storylines - and are sometimes almost unrecognisable under heavy make-up. Author and critic Adam Mars-Jones joins Mark to assess how successfully the film captures the spirit of the novel.

Writer Margaret Forster discusses her latest novel, The Unknown Bridesmaid, inspired by a chance discovery in a second-hand bookshop, and explains why she is content to be left behind by advances in technology.

Producer Nicki Paxman.