To be a movie star, you have to invent yourself.

Be patient.Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar.

I think what is British about me is my feelings and awareness of others and their situations. English people are always known to be well mannered and cold but we are not cold - we don't interfere in your situation. If we are heartbroken, we don't scream in your face with tears - we go home and cry on our own.

I've always loved reprehensible people because they're so much more interesting to play on screen.

Great acting is about listening to what they are saying ....not waiting to deliver your lines.

When I was 6 my father went to fight in the war, so he was my big hero. I thought he was the greatest thing.

Presenting the Oscars was the most nerve-racking job I have ever done in show business. It's very much a live show: they have comedy writers waiting in the wings, and as you come off between presentations, they hand you an appropriate gag to tell.