Quotes

[on the universal popularity of 'Downton Abbey'] We have a word in England: gob-smacked. I don't know if it translates. Overwhelmed is an understatement.

[on the appeal of Downton Abbey (2010)] It's Breaking Bad (2008) with tea instead of meth.

When you are in the eye of the storm, you are often not aware of the whiplash around you.

At home I have a Tibetan terrier. I'm still not sure if he's a genius or very thick. It's a fine line.

Everyone at some point in their lives feels excluded and misunderstood.

I'd love to retire somewhere like Winchester, where you have one foot on the pavement but a sense of being in the country as well.

At 19, you know everything; by the time you're 40, you haven't got a clue.

After World War II, the major estates really did collapse.

Am I athletic? In my dreams.

A typical Christmas is me shucking oysters. I love them and I always get them in at Christmas.

I do realize how incredibly lucky I am.

I had girlfriends, but settling down was the last thing on my mind.

I've had people come up to me in the past and say they enjoyed whatever show I've been in.

I love doing comedy.

I always try to look for the best in most places.

I certainly couldn't run a big country house, nor could I organize the greatest show on earth.

I have an excellent internal compass.

On Elizabeth McGovern: It's "complete coincidence" that they were cast together in Downton. (Downton Abbey (2010)).

On Elizabeth McGovern: It's the third time we've played husband and wife. We did a show called Thursday the 12th, which was a political thriller-type thing. I was only in it very, very briefly as her husband. And we did a short-lived comedy, probably one of my favorite shows I've ever done, called Freezing, about an actress called Elizabeth McGovern who comes to live in London rather than follow her Hollywood career.

To go to the White House is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In fact, the building is not that big.

I've often been the guy who doesn't get the girl.

Young people are so often dissed by the media.

[on Henry Brown in Paddington (2014):] I thoroughly enjoyed that character and working with Sally Hawkins as Mrs Brown. We improvised a lot in rehearsals and that was a complete joy.