I absolutely hate clothes shopping, though I love clothes. It's my idea of heaven to be handed things to wear.

Shakespeare's taught me that there are more words in the English language than I have got in my head.

Shakespeare showed me that once I understand the rules, I can break them.

My mother was adorable, a great giggler. My father was very strong and could be quite frightening.

I don't want to be a director, or to have responsibility for hundreds of people.

I dont have the confidence to be a personality.

I have lots of passions - gardens, art, music and reading. I have eclectic taste and read a huge variety of books.

I don't know any woman who is happy with her looks. I certainly wouldn't want to be friends with anyone who was.

And children? 'I don't have any regrets about not having had children. What's the point? It's just something else to beat yourself up over.

I'm constantly intimidated by Shakespeare's work. Trying to decipher what he's saying and holding on to that thought - not just as an actor, but as a human being - is a rigour.

As You Like It' was the first Shakespeare production I ever did.

Wasn’t it correct in America to call a man ‘handsome’ rather than ‘beautiful’?

When you see someone draining you, your being naturally cuts it off. Yet many times you can be manipulated not to see.

One of the marks of a great poet is that he creates his own family of words and teaches them to live together in harmony and to help one another.

Anger is preverbal, so, by the time you're using words to express an angry feeling, you're already imposing loads of structure on that primal experience.

the discoveries don't come when you're looking for them. They come when for some reason you've let go conscious control.

Words are more powerful than perhaps anyone suspects, and once deeply engraved in a child's mind, they are not easily eradicated.

One ought not to be unkind to a woman merely on account of her plainness, any more than one had a right to take liberties with her merely because she was handsome

New Zealanders who leave for Australia raise the IQ of both countries

I don't do a television show for awards. You make it so people will enjoy watching it.

If you are trying to get out of the hole, stop digging.