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

Certain stories that you want to see resolve in certain ways are, and some aren't, but that's life.

At home I have a Tibetan terrier. I'm still not sure if he's a genius or very thick. It's a fine line.

It's never happened to me before, in my career, and never will again. It's a one-off experience. It's a rare treat to have a cast together for six years. Crews come and go, and a few of them have been there throughout, but not many. It's rare, in my experience, after 26 years, to have had a proper company in a show that enjoys each other's company, and who is such a fine bunch of people and actors. To have struck a chord with people, and to have had that combination, is extremely rare.

After World War II, the major estates really did collapse.

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

Julian Fellowes doesn't come to the set, except maybe once every six weeks, for whatever reason. He's not a producer, in that sense. But if you write him a one-line question, he'll write you a three-page answer.