The best shows succeed because they tap into a national conversation.

We are not telling Tudor history; we are creating ' Wolf Hall ' from novels, which are already a rereading of Tudor history.

For me the rehearsal period is the part I most enjoy. It's the creating of the story.

I've always had a 'Work hard, play hard' attitude to life - I still do - but sometimes you get involved in something that needs a calm, methodical approach.

You know what it's like to feel anxious - it's horrible feeling anxious. It's stressful having that feeling, having butterflies in your stomach, even for a day, and you don't sleep at night.

I think people like to be scared. I think people like tension and suspense in a movie.

You can't do something that is morally vacuous or dysfunctional and then write it off saying, 'It wasn't my film, I was just doing a job in it.'

People need revelation, and then they need resolution.

My heroes were all in the theatre.

I think you can't be really posh and be an interesting actor. I'm a bit of a posh rough.

Temperamentally I'm not a natural producer, because I don't have the patience.

When we relate with people, we indirectly relate with God

In every living thing there is the desire for love.

Guilt is the thief of life.

How we look - though it is superficial and immutable - has a huge impact on our lives.

I'd say working on television is much, much tougher than films. But television has a great connect with a live audience, which is a refreshing change for us actors.

I always wanted to play with the sound, but I always wanted to do it in a respectful way, because I never lived in New York and I don't have a real connection to that scene.

To my wife 'I told you I was sick'.

I understand that the results I've had in my career, or I'm having now, they are very good. And that gives me confidence, of course, but I do not feel invincible.

Recognize and honour your uniqueness.

Looking back, nothing seems so simple than a utopian vision realised.