I don’t like to be challenged in the way that often happens, where somebody writes something and then you, as an actor, are expected to really make it up in your imagination. That’s not really an ideal way of working.
When something is iconic, if you’re very careful and delicate, you can add onto that iconography. It can expand. People have attached so much to it themselves, and connected to it, so the risks are big, but the potential is enormous, at the same time.
So to answer your question, Im not entirely sure how I ended up where I am today, in the sense that nobody in my family is an actor. It just happened by mistake.
There’s a part of me that wants to look nice and occasionally wants to be snappy, and the other part of me that just wants to wear the same sweater until I die. And I’m in constant conflict between those two sides.
Whether it’s from the books or the films, there are some people that will have a very fixed idea in their head. You’re not going to match that. At a certain point, you have to accept that.
I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was growing up, really. So when I decided to go to university instead of drama school, it was with the intention of becoming an actor afterwards.
In reality, for me every role is completely different.
I think that women don’t bother disguising their desire and pleasure in dressing up, and that men, for whatever reason, tend to be a little more embarrassed.
Well, fluffy shirts are, by definition, very comfortable.
There’s no one actor in particular that I want to model my career after, except for the people who have been able to keep their career varied and who choose things that interest them. That opportunity is all I really want.
Ireland. Great for the spirit – very bad for the body.
No one has ever mistaken me for someone who should be giving fashion advice, but I will say I’m always impressed by women who have kind of figured out their own style and comfort. That’s what I find attractive.
I’ve not as yet found one hobby that would absorb me completely when I’m not working, but I have just bought a new apartment and didn’t quite bargain for the amount of effort and time and money that that absorbs.
I think I can lead a pretty anonymous life, yeah.
I think becoming an actor because it’s a ridiculously insecure profession to go into. I feel very comfortable but very lucky. I think any time that you imagine that it’s plain sailing for hereon in, then you’re kidding yourself.
But no, I don’t think I’m particularly drawn to the period roles or the medieval roles.
Besides, most of the books I like involve people I could never play in a million years.
In my experience it’s not essential to get on with the person that you’re acting opposite.
The little song and dance number at the end – that’s me, my voice, howling out. It was a new experience for me. I’ve never sung before and I’ve certainly never sung on screen. I think I sung on stage when I was 13 and for some reason nobody’s asked me to try it again since.
But one of the most fantastic things about Ireland and Dublin is that the pubs are like Paris and the cafe culture. And Dublin, in many ways, is a pub culture.