As far as people I'd like to work with, the list is endless. I think to work with Steve McQueen woul...
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As far as people I'd like to work with, the list is endless. I think to work with Steve McQueen would be amazing, and then some of the U.K. talent we have: Eddie Marsan, Olivia Colman, both of whom I have met and admired for a long time. We're very blessed in this country; there is so much talent for people to work with and learn from.
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I wanted to do a degree in something I was interested in before going into acting.
I wanted to do a degree in something I was interested in before going into acting.
I do a mean mouth trumpet.
I do a mean mouth trumpet.
Part of the reason that I love Grantchester (2014) is that it's a show in which the hero is a man of...
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Part of the reason that I love Grantchester (2014) is that it's a show in which the hero is a man of faith. He's not a comic device or a villain. He's just a very normal, very sympathetic young man who most people can identify with.
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I think the mistake lots of people make when it comes to a psychopath is that they completely write ...
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I think the mistake lots of people make when it comes to a psychopath is that they completely write off their actions as cruel, callous and completely calculated, but actually, the truth is that they have interests and reasons behind their actions.
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For any actor, it's a great privilege to play a character that is very distant from yourself.
For any actor, it's a great privilege to play a character that is very distant from yourself.
Teenage years are tricky for everyone, but when you're 15 and it's an all-boys boarding school, as i...
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Teenage years are tricky for everyone, but when you're 15 and it's an all-boys boarding school, as it was then, and you go through puberty late, it makes a huge difference.
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When I got into drama school, that's when I knew that I could safely say that I wanted to be a profe...
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When I got into drama school, that's when I knew that I could safely say that I wanted to be a professional actor.
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We live in secular world now, but most of our art and culture is rooted in religion.
We live in secular world now, but most of our art and culture is rooted in religion.
I grew up in North Yorkshire, but now London is home.
I grew up in North Yorkshire, but now London is home.
My love life right now is infinitely less interesting than that of any of my characters.
My love life right now is infinitely less interesting than that of any of my characters.
I had the acting bug from a very early age.
I had the acting bug from a very early age.
If it's a sunny day, I get this weird guilt if I'm not making the most of it, so I'll walk or go for...
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If it's a sunny day, I get this weird guilt if I'm not making the most of it, so I'll walk or go for a swim or get on my bike, or I'll go to the Heath, just have a reason to get out.
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Happy Valley (2014) has really changed things for me.
Happy Valley (2014) has really changed things for me.
You're a little boy in a testosterone-fuelled world - and, in my case, one who was into arts and mus...
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You're a little boy in a testosterone-fuelled world - and, in my case, one who was into arts and music when everyone else was into rugby. So you're standing on the pitch going 'Oh, my God!' I look back now and it seems ridiculous but, at the time, it felt quite big.
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I love good stories; you have to have a good plot - characters which intertwine with a good plot.
I love good stories; you have to have a good plot - characters which intertwine with a good plot.
Being in a person's head for five months, where they're so hateful, is kind of exhausting.
Being in a person's head for five months, where they're so hateful, is kind of exhausting.
Half of what creates psychopaths is genetic, but the other half is conditioning.
Half of what creates psychopaths is genetic, but the other half is conditioning.
I grew up in the countryside, so I had quite a feral life up until the age of about fourteen.
I grew up in the countryside, so I had quite a feral life up until the age of about fourteen.
You don't want a character who sits on an even playing field the whole time.
You don't want a character who sits on an even playing field the whole time.
On marriage and fatherhood: I definitely want that, because my sister and I were raised in a really ...
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On marriage and fatherhood: I definitely want that, because my sister and I were raised in a really close family and my parents are still very much in love and living in Yorkshire. That's the kind of end game that I would love, too.
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But, still, being at Ampleforth, and then going on to study theology at Cambridge, gave me a lack of...
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But, still, being at Ampleforth, and then going on to study theology at Cambridge, gave me a lack of cynicism about faith and a respect and fascination for all religions.
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For a long time I had a vintage stall, where I sold men's vintage clothing, and my girlfriend was co...
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For a long time I had a vintage stall, where I sold men's vintage clothing, and my girlfriend was convinced it was just to do with a problem I had where I just couldn't stop buying senseless clothes, even if they didn't fit me.
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Kids used to come round to my house, and I'd force them to do a play in the bay windows of my house ...
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Kids used to come round to my house, and I'd force them to do a play in the bay windows of my house and get all the mums and dads to sit and watch. I'd write the program, write the play and be the star.
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I crashed my bicycle on the way to my first date with my ex-girlfriend and was cautioned by the poli...
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I crashed my bicycle on the way to my first date with my ex-girlfriend and was cautioned by the police.
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When I was playing a psychopath in Happy Valley (2014) it was really weird.
When I was playing a psychopath in Happy Valley (2014) it was really weird.
It takes a lot of courage, when everyone is asking you what you want to do, if you say that you want...
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It takes a lot of courage, when everyone is asking you what you want to do, if you say that you want to be a musician or an actor; people can be very condescending and say, 'Oh, that's so sweet, good luck with that!' It can be very frustrating.
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Obviously I have a relationship with religion, because I went to a Catholic school and studied theol...
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Obviously I have a relationship with religion, because I went to a Catholic school and studied theology. I can't call myself religious, but I'm definitely fascinated by it.
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I love, when I'm on holiday in cities, going into church and feeling that reverence and that kind of...
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I love, when I'm on holiday in cities, going into church and feeling that reverence and that kind of automatic respect: the sort of magic which exists in those kind of religious temples.
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If you compare the violence in Happy Valley (2014) to the violence in something like Game of Thrones...
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If you compare the violence in Happy Valley (2014) to the violence in something like Game of Thrones (2011), it's nothing. But it is shocking because it's so real and grounded. The characters could live next door to you - they're not in a remote fantasy world.
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