You can't believe everything you read. It's never been more true.

I believe in ceremony. I think ceremony is important, pomp and circumstance, tradition. I'm into those things.

There are so many family dinners you can do. I eventually had to go to them and say, 'Look, I don't do spatula work. I don't do scenes with oven mitts. If you're looking for that, you've got the wrong guy. I'm not doing scenes about casseroles. It's not happening.

We had shot six episodes of the West Wing season when 9/11 happened. An extraordinary thing that would never happen today is Aaron going to the network and saying, "I think we need to go back and reshoot, I have something I want to do," and the network just kind of let him do it.

The media have such a strong hand in deciding what people's perceptions are. They decide what the agenda is going to be, what the issues are.

[Maggie Smith] brings new meaning to the phrase "doesn't suffer fools." She has just the most amazing, dry timing of anyone ever, I think. I think everyone's always known about it, but with her resurgence on Downton Abbey, a whole new generation has been introduced to it, which is just great.

I don't like any sport where you're already exhausted when you're done putting on the equipment.