The British actress - who won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in `Revolutionary Road` in 2009 - took her time before picking her forthcoming project `Mildred Pierce` because she didn`t feel productive but think she has put in a better performance for waiting. She said: "I just waited until the dust had settled and I was ready to engage with - it sounds so w**ky - my creative side again. In the last few years I`ve allowed myself to acknowledge the fact that I do really need my job. I need that outlet. "And so, not only did I feel good and ready, I felt good and ready to be destroyed by a role again." Despite now returning to work, 35-year-old Kate - who split with husband Sam Mendes last year - believes she is happier than ever, something she is "surprised" at. She told Vogue magazine: "I actually keep saying it out loud. Last night, I went out for a drink with two friends, and as we were talking I said, `God, you know, I feel so good.` Not in a, `Wow! I feel so good!` way, but just in that quiet centred way. "I`m almost surprised by it. I feel well. I feel healthy. I feel clear. I feel centred."