I always look for contradiction in a character.
I always look for contradiction in a character.
Twin Peaks (1990) is my favorite American TV show.
Twin Peaks (1990) is my favorite American TV show.
My childhood was very colourful, and I am very good friends with both my parents. We have no secrets...
Show more »
My childhood was very colourful, and I am very good friends with both my parents. We have no secrets.
Show less «
Whenever I'm in theatre situations I will go out of my way not to talk about my father, but in the f...
Show more »
Whenever I'm in theatre situations I will go out of my way not to talk about my father, but in the film world I can be really proud of my family and say, 'You know what: my dad's a really, really famous theatre director,' because nobody has any idea.
Show less «
No family is sane, is it?
No family is sane, is it?
One aspect of my mum's personality that has influenced me is her love of Hollywood and the golden er...
Show more »
One aspect of my mum's personality that has influenced me is her love of Hollywood and the golden era of black-and-white films.
Show less «
One of the great things about the "Iron Man" franchise is that they employ fascinating actors who do...
Show more »
One of the great things about the "Iron Man" franchise is that they employ fascinating actors who don't necessarily do action movies. Before "Iron Man", you didn't associate Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow with those kinds of films. There's an emphasis on repartee and wit.
Show less «
There's always going to be a separate version of you that people will create, and you have no contro...
Show more »
There's always going to be a separate version of you that people will create, and you have no control over it.
Show less «
I read everything. I've always got a book on the go and I'm really nerdy about it, I get through boo...
Show more »
I read everything. I've always got a book on the go and I'm really nerdy about it, I get through books and don't remember anything about them afterwards. But I read all sorts, from classic to contemporary.
Show less «
I've never been desperate to please my father.
I've never been desperate to please my father.
I quite enjoy cooking but I'm not consistent. I can't follow the recipe book. If something goes well...
Show more »
I quite enjoy cooking but I'm not consistent. I can't follow the recipe book. If something goes well, I'll never make it again, which is completely stupid. It's a one-shot kind of deal.
Show less «
My mum's American. She's from Detroit.
My mum's American. She's from Detroit.
[on meeting Benedict Cumberbatch when she was age 8] Benedict was one of those boys that you met and...
Show more »
[on meeting Benedict Cumberbatch when she was age 8] Benedict was one of those boys that you met and you could already see what he was going to be like when he was middle-aged. He is a one-off, and it is the fate of people who are unique for others not to notice their talent straight off the bat. It's easy for people to say, "Wow, you are the next 'Johnny Depp'." Benedict was never going to be the next anybody. He was always going to be just who he is.
Show less «
If pressed, I would say I feel British. It's where I grew up and where I choose to live, the culture...
Show more »
If pressed, I would say I feel British. It's where I grew up and where I choose to live, the culture that I love, but I feel perfectly at home in America, I don't feel like a tourist or anything.
Show less «
I'm very nerdy about my music, and I like interrogating people about what they put on playlists.
I'm very nerdy about my music, and I like interrogating people about what they put on playlists.
If you act scared, your body produces adrenaline.
If you act scared, your body produces adrenaline.
Lentil dhal is the only thing I can cook.
Lentil dhal is the only thing I can cook.
I think for a long time it seemed like working in an art form and being a feminist meant portraying ...
Show more »
I think for a long time it seemed like working in an art form and being a feminist meant portraying women in a perfect, angelic light. And there's nothing feminist about that.
Show less «
I was the kid who grew up watching Bette Davis films.
I was the kid who grew up watching Bette Davis films.
As a child I loved ghost stories.
As a child I loved ghost stories.
You either are a good director or you're not.
You either are a good director or you're not.
I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be an actor. It has just always been an inevitability ...
Show more »
I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be an actor. It has just always been an inevitability on some level.
Show less «
I'm not consciously avoiding doing a lot of period drama, but I don't really seek it out either.
I'm not consciously avoiding doing a lot of period drama, but I don't really seek it out either.
I would say that maybe directors who act as well are easier with actors. I'm not saying that all dir...
Show more »
I would say that maybe directors who act as well are easier with actors. I'm not saying that all directors have this, but sometimes you'll come across a director who sort of looks at an actor a bit like a kind of untrained horse that's been let out of the stable, like they might buck him.
Show less «
To read a character I'm not sympathizing with is generally quite a good, attractive proposition beca...
Show more »
To read a character I'm not sympathizing with is generally quite a good, attractive proposition because I've got somewhere to go, I've got work to do, to try to understand why they behave like they behave, to relate entirely and understand them and to be completely emotionally connected. That is much more fun 99 percent of the time.
Show less «
I used to have the most visceral response to having my photo taken. I felt like instantly bursting i...
Show more »
I used to have the most visceral response to having my photo taken. I felt like instantly bursting into tears and running out of the room. I hated all the attention, which is such a stupid thing for an actor to say.
Show less «
I was a really pretentious teenager.
I was a really pretentious teenager.
When I was 22, I thought I couldn't wear heels because of my height.
When I was 22, I thought I couldn't wear heels because of my height.
There are people all over the world who like to write fan letters in the voice of their pet: 'Hello,...
Show more »
There are people all over the world who like to write fan letters in the voice of their pet: 'Hello, my name is Fifi and I'm a labrador and I think you're great. Paw paw!'
Show less «
It sounds trite, but I like telling stories.
It sounds trite, but I like telling stories.
I think acting can be very frustrating, and there's no experience that doesn't make you a better act...
Show more »
I think acting can be very frustrating, and there's no experience that doesn't make you a better actor.
Show less «
I don't like talking about myself, if I'm honest.
I don't like talking about myself, if I'm honest.
I've always had horrible Valentine's Days.
I've always had horrible Valentine's Days.
I don't think that theater is the higher medium, that it's better than film.
I don't think that theater is the higher medium, that it's better than film.
I've played an awful lot of repressed people.
I've played an awful lot of repressed people.
