Catherine Zeta-Jones has joked that she beats her phobia of public speaking by "torturing" husband Michael Douglas.

The Welsh actress confessed that she suffers from nerves and is terrified of speaking in public, but that working through her anxiety on her actor hubby helps her to get rid of her fears.

She told the Telegraph: "I do get terrified. I get terrified the first day I'm on a film set. I get nervous walking down a red carpet. I find making speeches the most terrifying thing in the world.

"I have this system. I torture my husband and everyone around me with my nerves and anxiety. Then, when I get on stage, the fear is gone. I've exhausted myself. It just dissipates."

The 43-year-old, who stars in new film Red 2, also revealed she is more picky about her film roles these days because she doesn't want to miss out on time with her two children, Carys and Dylan.

She said: "My daughter is 10, my son is 12 and these are such precious years to me. You never get them back.

"So if I'm going to leave my family for any length of time it had better be for a role that I haven't played before, with great people. It had better be fun. Otherwise, to be honest with you, I would prefer to stay at home."