Los Angeles, Nov 18 (IANS): Actress Kristin Scott Thomas had to deal with her fair share of frustrations when she directed her first feature film "The Sea Change".

She said: "It's very, very frustrating. You have to have nerves of steel. (It took so long that it) became a bit of a joke - 'Kristin's directing this film,' ha ha. (sic) It's a life's work."

The 58-year-old actress-director said her own experience has given her a new appreciation for her Oscar-winning movie "The English Patient", which was adapted from Michael Ondaatje's novel, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She said: "Now I know how difficult it is to do an adaptation of a brilliant novel. The adaptation of 'The English Patient' is just so beautiful - it's like a cousin, it flows alongside the book."

She got her big break when the late pop icon Prince cast her in his 1986 directorial debut "Under the Cherry Moon" and though she says it was "not a good film", she praised the project as "brave" and the "Raspberry Beret" hitmaker as "extraordinary".