I've always wanted to play a spy, because it is the ultimate acting exercise. You are never what you seem.

[Sherlock Holmes] has to understand the world. That's very much John's [Watson] influence on him. But like a lot of the friendships and relationships in that world, it's born out of necessity. It makes him better. There's a pragmatism to it. It's not whimsical or sentimental. It's born out of necessity.

The awful lesson of history is that we too often ignore people, just because they're foreigners or different from us.

We have a lot more unlikely heroes now. It’s not just the guy with guns—it’s the guy with brains.

It'd be really nice to wake up looking like, I don't know, Jake Gyllenhaal and think "Let's try this on for a day and see how it feels.

What's not to look forward to? It's like all the actors in all of the films. It's difficult to get Martin Freeman and I in a room together. Imagine what it's like to get myself, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Olsen... these extraordinary actors who all have careers outside the Marvel Universe.

I like to think that we’re revolving on this planet and revolving through the galaxy. I love having context that’s so much bigger than I can fathom. It’s fantastic to realise how insignificant you are.