Quotes

What makes a man a man? It's the choices he makes. Not how he starts things but how he finishes them.

I've always loved the writing of Aaron Sorkin. He cleverly intersperses big issues alongside personal relationships.

I've just finished a book called 'The Time Traveler's Wife', which I really enjoyed, but that's quite old, but I have read it. I've read it, and I enjoyed that.

I always had a soft spot for Sandra Bullock.

I was watching a Storyville documentary called 'Blackfish' about killer whales in captivity. I was emotionally drained by the end. It revealed a real behind-the-scenes truth on what we do with animals.

I loved The West Wing (1999); it's my favourite-ever television show.

There are many actors I admire, but I always look at people who have done a variety of roles - people such as Simon Russell Beale or Ralph Fiennes.

I've done a lot of period dramas, but I love modern productions, too.

The most adventurous I've been was doing Raleigh International when I was 20.

Essentially, I never know what I'm going to do until I read the script, but a good story is a good story. I would like to do more modern stuff, but ultimately, it doesn't matter to me - good stories are timeless.

When I was 15, I went on a cricket tour of Zimbabwe with my school. My defining memory of it was stroking a semi-tame lioness at a game reserve. I grew up on a farm, so I felt I had an affinity with animals, and when it put a paw out, I thought I'd connected with it. But its claws came out and nicked my leg. Then I did the most stupid thing: I ran.

On his favorite James Bond gadget: I always loved Live and Let Die (1973), when Roger Moore undid the zip on Miss Caruso's dress with his magnetic watch. I was a big watch freak as a kid and loved Casios with calculators on. I definitely got that from Bond.

I always think people who stretch themselves are interesting. That's something to admire, isn't it?

On his favorite gadgets: My Tivoli audio digital radios. I'm obsessed. I have a DAB radio in every room, so I can wander around the house, listening to cricket. Crystal-clear Test Match Special is one of life's joys. Well, apart from the recent Ashes tour.

Our work, particularly in film and television, has become more and more last minute, so technology is vital. It has made us much more flexible. I've reduced my paper output massively by reading scripts on iPad. Researching roles, especially historical ones, is a lot easier online. I've just done Lucan on ITV, so spent a lot of time surfing the web, reading up on my character, painter Dominick Elwes. Auditioning over Skype is becoming a lot more common too. My latest job was Rogue, an American cop drama with T'handie Newton', and I had to do a Skype meeting with the showrunner for that.

On his favorite computer game: I got addicted to Tiger Woods Golf. I'd be up till 3am every night and it ruined my life, so I had to go cold turkey and give them up. But I do have a chess app and I play against two or three friends. I get obsessed with that too. My girlfriend goes mental if she hears the noise of me moving a piece. I put my phone on silent so she doesn't know what I'm up to. It's my dirty secret.