I'm interested in art for all. I don't want it to be only the sons and daughters of Tory MPs who get to see my plays.

I remember very clearly someone saying, 'Don't shake hands with the cactus,' and I thought, 'Well, why not? What could possibly go wrong?' Shaking hands is a friendly gesture.

Pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.

I'm a high-functioning sociopath, do your research.

Looking for happiness is a sure way to sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes.

Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I'm also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.

Being a posh actor in England you cannot escape the class-typing from whatever side you look at it.

The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.

You come into this world as you leave it, on your own. It's made me want to live a life slightly less ordinary.

I keep myself amused and others confused

If you have an over-preoccupation with perception and trying to please people's expectations, then you can go mad.

But history does repeat itself

Conscience is thoroughly well-bred and soon leaves off talking to those who do not wish to hear it.

Caffeine is like a really attractive girl that has nothing to say. You get all jacked up on it and then you're left feeling hollow and empty.

Movie stars are supposed to be healthy. They're kept happy and nutritionally together.

I try to do the things that speak to me in one way or another, and sometimes I'm even drastic.

Deciding to write a novel about something - as opposed to finding you are writing a novel around something - sounds to me like a good evocation of writer's block.

Every single book is a challenge.

I pitied myself for having no door until I met a man with no dividers.

I made a wish on a sliver of moonlight A sly grin and a bowl full of stars

Without dreams we would be cows in a field, and I don't want to live like that. I live my life or I end my life with this project.