I think every period - except for the 14th century, or something - has some merits.

I mean the truth is, I've always been interested in the whole setup of the old world.

Sometimes it is quite surprising, the emotional intensity of it. I was in NY one day, in Barnes and Noble, and I could see this woman following me around and after a bit I stopped and said 'Hello' and she just looked at me and said: “PLEASE LET EDITH BE HAPPY!”

I always loved movies and the cinema; we always used to go to see films as a family.

I think Americans are wonderful film actors - the best in the world - but they are a very contemporary race and they look forward all the time.

No, while most people have been at their unhappiest when in love, it is nevertheless the state the human being yearns for above all.

One of the great injustices in fiction is that on the whole people with romantic yearnings have romantic faces. But in real life it's not always like that.