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I think if I were to go back on stage I might be in great danger of acting.
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I think that various styles and methods and approaches are an invention of people who don't understand the process of acting and who try very hard to label things.
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I honestly have no strategy whatsoever. I'm waiting for that script to pop through the letterbox and completely surprise me.
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Hamlet is an astonishing intelligence.
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Filming is so much to do with rhythm, as is music, and if it isn't there then you know in the end nobody can save it really, they can't.
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I've never had to turn my hand to anything for monetary gain, other than pretending to be somebody else. I'm deeply fortunate.
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There have not been any troughs as regards my work. There's never been a trough of my assurance.
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I do remember, as a child, that I always imagined, when I was maybe 6 or 7, my fantasy was that everywhere I went I was being followed by an invisible film crew.
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I think the cinema you like has more to do with silence, and the theater you like has more to do with language.
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The trick is to try and justify every word on the page and make sure my character is the man who would say that.
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Somewhere in your career, your work changes. It becomes less anal, less careful and more spontaneous, more to do with the information that your soul carries.
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As an actor there's no autonomy, unless you're prepared to risk the possibility of starving.
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Well, it's wonderful to be identified strongly with my work.
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I was fortunate as a young actor, to go straight to the RSC, where I learned that being an actor can bring with it wonderful responsibilities.
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I try and reduce myself to an almost blank slate and hope to God that I am creative.
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When I choose a role it's either because I recognise the man, or that I'm very curious to know him. If I neither recognise nor know him, then it is better that I don't play him.
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If I were to play somebody who ran a fish and chip shop, I would not work in a fish and chip shop for three months. Staring at chips is not going to help me in my performance.
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One of the greatest things drama can do, at it's best, is to redefine the words we use every day such as love, home, family, loyalty and envy. Tragedy need not be a downer.
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I have never felt bereft of anything.
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With narration, you have to be very accurate with your voice. It's a good exercise to do.
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The hierarchy of class in London was rigid. It was like a religion. It still is to a certain extent.
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The many many imponderables come together when a film opens and for all sorts of reasons it may or may not succeed.
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I always try to find something I admire about every character I play.
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In England, it's now Sir Ben. Mister has just disappeared. It's not even on my passport anymore. They've taken Mister away from me.