There are a lot of parallels between the historical Henry VIII and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. There's an oscillation and extremity of emotion throughout his repertoire that lends itself beautifully to the nature of Henry VIII, definitely. He will push things to the limit, and yet remain in emotional control.

I’ve always been a black sheep. That’s a hard thing to be until you find your calling in life. I was bullied a lot at school, probably because I was perceived to be different from everyone else.

If you're a loner and you like to go off and run on your own, do that.

I feel like I've really earnt my stripes - I feel ready to play a lead. I would just love to prove I'm good enough to carry a project.

No one thinks that they're a monster. No one thinks that of themselves. Everyone has an earnest belief that it would be better if they were in power.

I buy the odd book. There's a great book out at the moment called Ego Is the Enemy.

I just want to play real human beings. You know, I don't care if they're male or female.