"I've got a vendetta to destroy the Net, to make everyone go to the library. I love the organic thing of pen and paper, ink on canvas. I love going down to the library, the feel and smell of books."
"Give me a sword fight any day."
"I think academics are infuriating. For every expert on Shakespeare there is another one to cancel his theory out. It drives you up the wall. I think the greatest form of finding out the truth is through fantasy."
"From the age of about five to twelve I was very bad, a hideous little terror who beat people up. I was a member of the Rough Gang - we went around and terrorized all the pupils in school."
"I love new writing, new blood, modern works by unknown writers."
"I don't know what my limitations are until I reach them. I look for the challenge."
"I think everything I do is my early work. I can't wait to get on to the later stuff."
"It all felt like a terribly long time. It would have meant that I had to make five movies in five years and if you don't like the movies, too bad. I guess I just wanted my freedom, and I think my life has been incredibly enhanced as a result."
"But it's a strange thing when people judge you because you're not doing some big Hollywood film. Are you suggesting I should be in 'The Dukes of Hazzard?' I mean, hello?"
"I can only put myself in the process and try to learn through the process. Sometimes it will go well and sometimes it won't."
"There are always going to be times when it doesn't flow as much as you were hoping. So of course I'm going to fail. And when I do fail I hope I fail better and better, again and again. I am happy to fail."
"You know what? Joy is the only guide. I'm going to have fun regardless."
"I love life. I'm fascinated by human behavior because that feeds back into my work."
"I fall in love with contradictions without understanding. I can't really portray them unless I do. So in a roundabout way I have to fall in love, it's my duty. If love is about understanding and understanding is compassion and compassion is love, I have to have compassion towards the world."
"There is a bit of me if I'm pushed in one way I might bounce back and go the opposite."
"The great thing about films is that you have access to this whole world of experts who teach you the skills your character's supposed to have."
"If you want to make idols accessible - which I think Shakespeare should be - then you have to bring a human touch, make it self-effacing and warm."
"Working backstage as a teenager made me realise there's not much glamour in this profession - just lots of hard work. That's a good thing to learn early on."
"I like language, and in film, language is diluted by the visuals and the music. Theatre is what I was trained for."
"What I don't find compelling is doing classical plays that everyone already knows - and people are following with the text in their hand because no one is listening."
"When you wake up, and you see that America has pulled out of the climate deal in Paris, that sends huge messages about putting coal before the planet."
"I want my daughters to live in a world where there is equality and parity of pay."
"I guess, as an actor, you have to bring something personal to the character - you've got to identify and love one element of the character, or else you can't really inhabit and find ownership."
"I love to read profiles about people, but I'm interested in their processes. I only ever do them for newspapers that I love."
"I love travelling. I love cultures."
