Maggie Gyllenhaal: Balance is a 'struggle'

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Maggie Gyllenhaal finds her work life balance a "struggle" to maintain.

The 'Kindergarten Teacher' star has daughters Ramona, 12, and Gloria, seven, with her husband Peter Sarsgaard, and has said that it's "impossible" to keep her career and her family life completely balanced, but knows that's "part of the ride" of being a parent.

She said: "I think every parent knows that's impossible. It's always a struggle, but that's how you learn. I'm a much more confident mother now than I was 12 years ago. But that's part of the ride."

And the 41-year-old actress says it was fellow Hollywood star Dame Emma Thompson - who has daughter Gaia and adopted son Tindyebwa with her husband Greg Wise - who helped her understand that it's okay to make mistakes when it comes to parenting.

Maggie added: "Emma Thompson once told me that 'dropping the ball' was part of being alive. So I try to let the balls drop sometimes and see where they land, and see where I really am."

The brunette beauty also spoke about her role on HBO series 'Deuces' - which is currently filming its third and final season - on which she stars as Candy, a sex worker turned porn director, and also works as a producer.

Maggie insists she's learned "a lot" from playing Candy.

Speaking to 'Entertainment Tonight', she said: "Candy doesn't judge other people. It's like a bone she doesn't have, she's taught me a lot about that."

The star earned a Golden Globe nomination last year for her role in the dramatic series, and was recently praised for hiring 'intimacy minders' to ensure the cast felt as comfortable with bedroom filming as they would be when shooting action footage while surrounded by experts.

She said: "When you do a stunt and someone slaps you, someone else is there to make sure you're physically safe, so why don't we have that with sex scenes? I thought it would be good to have someone make the actor feel comfortable."