Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I do believe in one true love.
I love discovering tiny streets.
Cooking can cure almost anything.
I can be so blown away by story lines.
I get so excited about reading a new script.
I'd like to do something that involves music.
I'm not from aristocracy, or anything like that.
I regret not learning to drive when I was younger.
My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.
You can find a connection with any Shakespeare role you play.
It's great to have a home and everything else that comes with it.
I just want a really varied career, and just to keep going, really.
It's old news, me and my accent, but it always seems to make headlines.
You learn an incredible amount doing theatre, not just about to behave.
I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Instagram and follow Lena Dunham and Usher.
Laugh at yourself - a lot. My mum taught me not to take myself too seriously.
Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.
I'm taller than most actresses, so most corsets tend to be too short in the body.
I think so often you can come out of drama school and get thrown in the deep end.
I wasn't an academic. I hated maths and science at school. I couldn't concentrate.
I really enjoy singing, it's entirely different to acting because I'm just being myself.
I want a house with a garden, but slap bang in the centre of London. Next door to a sushi bar.
Being in the same scenes as Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine is something I will never forget.
I don't mind wearing a corset, it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.
I don't mind wearing a corset; it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.
I'm quite into the French way - simple elegance with just a suggestion of sexiness, nothing vulgar.
In my twenties, I was a bit of a worrier; it bothered me what people thought of me, what job I was doing.
A good friend of mine works at Oxfam and has been closely involved in the charity's aid efforts in Syria.
In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.
For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.
I don't have to walk around in hats or find remote places to go for lunch! I don't get recognised that often.
I'm the youngest of three sisters, and my parents have always encouraged all of us to do whatever made us happy.
I don't get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.
The way I see it, the third series of 'Downton Abbey' is all about change and how each character adapts to those changes.
People will consider me a part of their lives for however long 'Downton Abbey' lasts. It's a lovely thing to feel as an actor.
If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.
I loved the 'Die Hard' films growing up and the 'Taken' movies. They're so entertaining, and I enjoy being on the edge of my seat.
I worked out; I moved 16 times from the age of 19, just hopping about from different flats, because I couldn't always afford to stay.
When I was a child, I went to stage school three times a week in the evenings - singing, ballet, tap, modern and acting, and I loved it.
Silk scarves are my thing. I tie them to my handbag or thread them through belt loops or wear them in my hair. Never round my neck, though.
I love cycling, but if I could find a way of building something above the streets for cyclists, that would be amazing. We need even more space.
I've had moments of thinking maybe I should go on Twitter. It's something that I've been shy about, and I've thought that maybe I should do it.
I think my parents knew before I did that I was going to be an actress, because I was doing impressions of Margaret Thatcher at the age of four.
I'm quite surprised at how out of control I can be on stage because, actually, I find I like to be in control in life. It's quite freeing, really.
The kitchen is the most important place in any house. Visit your family, and that's where you'll end up. Go to a party, that's where everyone congregates.
We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays - I can travel where I like, I can do any job I want - but I think chivalry has been lost a little bit.
The whole acting game can sometimes be a bit false, and you meet a lot of people in it for the fame - so there's nothing I love more than going back to Essex.
There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.
I love singing live, actually. And I'm dying to sing in a role, whether it's in a musical or a biographical film about a singer. It's always been one of my aspirations.
At the age of eight, I auditioned for 'The Sound of Music' and made it through to the third round, where we all stood in a row like the Von Trapp family and had to sing.