Am I athletic? In my dreams.

To go to the White House is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In fact, the building is not that big.

You have no idea what's going to happen [in Downton Abbey] until you get the script. We roughly knew a couple of the key points that were going to happen, but when I got the last episode, I turned to the last page to check that I was still alive.

A typical Christmas is me shucking oysters. I love them and I always get them in at Christmas.

At 19, you know everything; by the time you're 40, you haven't got a clue.

I think any film that asks its audience a degree of tolerance and acceptance of those less fortunate than themselves isn't a bad thing from whatever culture you're in or from whatever part of any political spectrum.

I always try to look for the best in most places.