It is a tough business but if you get yourself in a situation like I, you can maintain a career over many years. That, to me, is a successful actor.

Humor is a very important thing. It is a natural predilection. It is an emotional release.

I don't give a damn if you like Blackbeard. I don't care if you think he is an absolute despot. Do you believe me? If you do, I've done my work.

Well, I'm not a natural gym person myself, anyway.

The way Shakespeare wrote Fallstaff is with a heightened language and everything. That's the genuis of having Ken Branagh here as well. Shakespeare doesn't require you to have a doctorate in his language or whatever to understand him. It just has to be directed and played right. It's all about scale and presence and getting these huge, epic stories across.

History is written by victors and, occasionally, sensationalist journalists. I mean that with the best respect.

It is a tough business but if you get yourself in a situation like I, you can maintain a career over many years. That, to me, is a successful actor.