Actors are programmed to see the worst. If you're talking about an actor's TV series, you say, "I loved you last night." And they go, "What about the week before?" They immediately worry.

I think we all have blocks between us and the best version of ourselves, whether it's shyness, insecurity, anxiety, whether it's a physical block, and the story of a person overcoming that block to their best self. It's truly inspiring because I think all of us are engaged in that every day.

Thank you to my wonderful actors, the triangle of man-love which is Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and me.

American cinema tends to express a patriotic relationship to national identity on a regular basis.

The more uncompromisingly specific you are the more you end up touching the bigger universal truths.

Some of my most special shooting experiences have been at weekends.

I appear to be drawn to iconic characters and what they reflect back to our cultures.