You see, in America, it's quite standard for an actor to sign, at the beginning of a series, for five or seven years. The maximum any British agent will allow you to have over an actor is three years.

For most directors, the scriptwriter is about as welcome on set as a member of the Taliban.

Lawyers are always confident before the verdict. It's only after that they share their doubts.

When you are desperate to get someone who isn't all that interested in you, you lay siege as hard as you can.

You never know people, do you? You can work with 'em for twenty years; you don't know 'em at all.

The English country house is certainly an icon of British culture.

The movies are funny, in one way, because you think of everyone being as beautiful as the dawn, but that isn't true.