Looking for happiness is a sure way to sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes.

I remember very clearly someone saying, 'Don't shake hands with the cactus,' and I thought, 'Well, why not? What could possibly go wrong?' Shaking hands is a friendly gesture.

Pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.

I'm a high-functioning sociopath, do your research.

Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I'm also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.

Being a posh actor in England you cannot escape the class-typing from whatever side you look at it.

The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.

You come into this world as you leave it, on your own. It's made me want to live a life slightly less ordinary.

I keep myself amused and others confused

If you have an over-preoccupation with perception and trying to please people's expectations, then you can go mad.

Cumberbatch - it sounds like a fart in a bath, doesn't it? What a fluffy old name. I can never say it on a Monday morning. When I became an actor, Mum wasn't keen on me keeping it.

If I know what love is, it is because of you.

I've tried that love thing for the last time. My heart says no, no! Nobody's supposed to be here, but you came along and changed my mind

Beauty and death, so closely knit together. This seems to be the central theme of my life.

We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, killings, of wars, or of hatred...If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?

I shiver at the command. Why do I love the way he orders me around when I won’t stand the same from another man?

But the real, tremendous truth is this: suffering serves no purpose whatever.

Every time I make a film, I feel it gives me the chance to learn something new.

Do you know what a blessing it is to make movies that make people happy?

Our responsibility as Christians makes us tremble.

There is tremendous life and personality in a name. It should be at least as agonized over as any character trait.