[on binge-watching movies as a student at London theatres] It was addictive. We saw everything - French, Italian, Swedish, American, British, Taiwanese, Chinese. You could look at how other people fall in love in Tokyo. Other people fall in love in Gdansk. What people eat for breakfast in New York, what people eat for breakfast in Moscow. How we are all the same, but very different. Show less «

[why 2 black assistant directors worked on 12 Years a Slave (2013)] I expressly said in a meeting, 'Look, I can't make this movie in a situation where I don't see any black faces other than my own behind the camera. We need to employ certain people.' I made that very clear and it was attended to. [2016] Show less «

[on how similar the world of art is to film] Film is way different. When you're twenty feet tall on a massive screen and you're seeing people's lives played out on it, it's different from a nice painting. Film is important; it can be more than reportage or a novel - it creates images people have never seen before, never imagined they'd see, maybe because they needed someone else to imagine them. Show less «

[on working in Hollywood] I've seen behind the curtain. It's a bit Wizard of Oz-like. I admit I was excited about Cannes when Hunger (2008) launched there and then that was a success and I went to Hollywood for the first time and, my God, I was thrilled, you know, seeing the big letters: HOLLYWOOD. But after a few dinners with people and drinks parties, you realize it's all about rolling up your sleeves. I got on the Paramount lot for the first time and, yes, I saw gladiators walking by and elephants and then you see the scaffolding and the trucks and it is all just work.... It's not what I make films for. So I wish I was still a punter, going to the cinema on a weekend. Dreams are nice, but now I'm a bit back down to earth with the whole world of film and dreams fade. I don't want to be down on it but, if I'm honest, it's very disappointing. Like when you realize there's no Father Christmas... It's all just false, isn't it? I recently met some people who I looked up to and admired and I found out they were just normal - there are no gods out there. Show less «

I could never make American movies - they like happy endings. I made Shame (2011) in America, but it's not a Hollywood movie. I'm about challenging people. Like, properly challenging them and their assumptions. Audiences make their minds up about people they see on screen, just like they do in real life. That's what fascinates me in film. You see a character and have to think: is this person different to what I assumed he was when I first saw him?... I'm certainly not who people think I am. I always do whatever I want to do and my films are personal to me. Hunger (2008) was about my youth, the loss of innocence when I realized what my country was doing, what was going on. Brandon in 'Shame' is my response to being lost - I've not been there in the sense of sexual addiction, but I've been lost. Show less «

[on the Academy Awards 2016 controversy] Hopefully, when people look back at [the 2016 Oscars] in 20 years, it'll be like seeing that David Bowie clip in 1983. [referring to an unearthed clip that went viral of the late singer chiding MTV for its lack of diversity more than 20 years ago] Forgive me; I'm hoping in 12 months or so we can look back and say this was a watershed moment, and thank God we put that right. (...) One could talk about percentages of certain people who are Academy members and the demographics and so forth, but the real issue is movies being made. Decisions being made by heads of studios, TV companies and cable companies about what is and is not being made. That is the start. That is the root of the problem. (...) It's like Johannesburg in 1976, if you go behind the scenes [of a film production]. I made two British movies [Hunger (2008) and Shame (2011)] and I never met one person of color in any below-the-line situations. Not one. No black, no Asian, no one. Like, hello? What's going on here? Very odd. [2016] Show less «

[despite his meticulous preparation...] Sometimes I wake up not knowing what scene we'll shoot. I don't want to restrict the situation. Sometimes you've got to find [the center of a scene]. How does it work? What does the actor do? How do they want to move? How am I going to capture it? You need the unknown as such to make it sort of flow. It's like being a musician. Show less «

I'm essentially quite happy, but, for some reason, I have done a lot of stuff that is dark. I don't know why that is and I don't question it. I don't really think you have a choice where you go as an artist. Show less «

[on his Mr. Burberry (2016) campaign spot] Christopher (Bailey, Burberry CEO) is a unique human being and a real collaborator. His enthusiasm is infectious and that's what attracted me into working with him on the Mr. Burberry project. (...) I wanted to convey the idea of two people who are passionately in love, and go off on a dirty weekend. It's that moment in a relationship where all you are thinking about is each other, and all you want is to be with each other. [2016] Show less «

[on directing Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave (2013)] He's like Mickey Rourke when he was Mickey Rourke, or Gary Oldman when he was Gary Oldman. Michael Fassbender is that person now. People want to be an actor because of him. People want to be in a movie because of him. People want to make a movie because he could be in it. People want to jam with him. He's like Ginger Baker. Show less «

I like the idea that everybody, from the electrician to the grip to the make-up and costume department, feels they have something at stake with the film - that they are a part of it like anyone else. We're a community. We are always talking together, discussing [the film]. On hard days, when you're in an environment that is extraordinarily supportive, it feels cathartic. Show less «

Art can't fix anything. It can just observe and portray. What's important is that it becomes an object, a thing you can see and talk about and refer to. A film is an object around which you can have a debate, more so than the incident itself. It's someone's view of an incident, an advanced starting point. Show less «

We don't really have a film industry in England; this [in the U.S.] is a real industry. The [first] two movies I made, I just made them. In America I had to test them. Which is strange to me and I was a bit upset about the whole thing. Show less «

[on 12 Years a Slave (2013)] Patsey is the humanity, she is the dignity in the tale. She is the grace in the film and you can't make that up - the person just has to have it. Lupita [Lupita Nyong'o] is the real deal. She's a real artist. I saw lots of beautiful girls. But there are not a lot who came to it from the inside out. Show less «

[on Kodak's new Super 8 camera] Super 8 taught me how to be a filmmaker. At the time, it was all about expense, meaning that I had to know what I wanted to shoot or at least edit in my head what I wanted to shoot before I shot it. It taught me how precious an image is and can be. It taught me how to refine my technique in editing and, ultimately, how beautiful film is. To this day I still shoot on Super 8. [2016] Show less «

[on Shame (2011) being rated NC-17 in the U.S.] When I first heard mention of NC-17, I thought they were a rap band. I didn't give a toss about that because I like the idea of doing something no one is actually talking about. It was the same with Hunger (2008). Want, urge, need - these are the things that create drama. Show less «

Access to sexual content is everywhere and that access has an influence on us every day, whether we're aware of it or not. Sex is being sold to you with your soda, even with your breakfast cereal. Show less «

I worked with scriptwriter Abi Morgan on Shame (2011) and she's brilliant, but she always knows where her stories and sentences are going. I don't want that; I like to start a sentence and let it take me, let it flow, so it can go anywhere. That's how I think things are in life, where we don't have a script. So I don't do storyboards. The characters and narrative dictate how I film a scene. Show less «