I think I have a very detailed sense of observation. I am interested in the details of people's lives and what information these details give.

People tend to view history as if it were another planet and think the modern world was invented in 1963. I don't agree.

What's difficult for American audiences is that they're used to a system here where you can get an actor for five years or even seven, and that is signed for at the audition. Whereas in England, no agent will give you an actor for more than three years.

If there's one thing I don't look for in a maid, it's discretion. Except with my own secrets, of course.

What is a week-end? Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey.

Plenty of friendships are sustainable through dinners and lunches, but will not stand a week away. So be careful with whom you go on holiday.

Maggie Smith has a unique sense of comedy, based on a somewhat ironic view of real life, making it both funnier and more sad. But perhaps her greatest ability, or at least the one that most intrigues me, is how she can convey deep and powerful emotion without a trace of sentimentality.