The best people to have power are the ones who don't want it.Collection: Power
Politics is a game and a profession. It doesn't really serve the people the politicians are supposed to serve.
I find you can lose yourself in an acting sense in a fight far more easily than you can in a dialogue scene, and I love that about it. We try as actors all the time: we strive just to completely sort of lose ourselves in the moment, and we never quite get there, but in a fight, you can do it in seconds; that is what I love about it.
I remember I had to play a blind person once, and I did this stupid thing with my eyes, and I knew the minute I started it I'd made a mistake.
When I'm applying for a new passport or something, someone will call me Christopher. Other than that, no one ever calls me Christopher.
There are lots of actors out there who are hugely, hugely talented and haven't got the breaks I've had.
I'm very lucky, I've got two very loving parents, still very much together, and always been very supportive.
You find with the really great actors, the ones you really admire and look up to, very often they're very giving, generous, warm people.
My parents brought us up in a very clever way, which was that they saw what we were interested in naturally, and then they encouraged whatever that may be. When I started sharing a keen interest in drama and the theater, instead of steering me away from it, they encouraged me to see plays and think about drama school.
My parents didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up. We were comfortable, but I didn't go to Oxbridge, and yet every American interviewer I get says to me, 'You're related to Charles II! Your grandfather was a baronet!' And it's infuriating, because that is a part of my history, but you're trying to turn me into a posh boy, and I'm not.
I do want to have children, but my parents had me when they were in their forties. I'd like to copy that.
On a serious level, I wouldn't tell the press if I was in a relationship or not. I wouldn't ever reveal that, because it takes you down a certain road... I have no desire to be courting the press with my love life.
I actually don't do much to my hair. It gets fussed over a lot on projects because there's a lot of it, and it's boy's hair, but as far as me, I tend to let it do what it wants.
We are fascinated with our own history, and we are fascinated with the Romans because they were millennia ago, and yet they still capture our imagination because they were actually so similar to us. They were very civilized. They had a very similar political system.
I don't want people thinking they know me instead of the character. Steve McQueen has loads of stories about him - who knows what's true? But it's great for people to fictionalize rather than know the truth.
Any kind of horror video game where I'm the first-person player and I'm... I suddenly stop caring about the video game dude, and I'm like, I really don't want him to die,' and then the minute he dies, it upsets me. I can't play those games.
I didn't get into this for fame, I genuinely didn't. I love acting, and I know that's a cliche, but I didn't, really, I was very naive when it came to the whole being recognized thing.
I'm kind of a horse whisperer; I don't know what it is. I'm not great on a horse. I'm getting better, but I'm not brilliant. So yeah, I've spent a lot of time with horses. They're great creatures; I love them. I do love riding them when I get the chance to.
As an actor, you don't have much choice about your appearance. It's a good excuse for looking ridiculous.
When I was 14, I saw 'Waiting for Godot.' It's one of those plays that if it's done badly is absolutely dire and can put you off acting for life. But I was laughing all the way through it.
Jeff Bridges is one of those icons that I put on a very high pedestal, so just to get to chill with him off-camera on cold, rainy days was surreal.
'How to Train Your Dragon,' the first one, was a film I'd seen prior to being approached for the sequel. I don't often watch family animated movies, but it's one that I loved and thought was really well done: beautifully crafted storytelling.
The more you fly, the more unsettling it is, because you realize how much more likely it will be for you to crash. I am getting better at it, though.
I'm a terrible packer. I don't pack lots and lots because I think I'll wear everything, I pack a lot because I never know what I'm going to need. I always go over the weight limit.
I studied history when I was at school, at A-level, actually. I wouldn't profess to being very knowledgeable though, no.
Wearing baggy clothes makes me look shorter. I just don't know anything about fashion. I know what I like wearing. I'm always accused that I wear too much black. I love wearing black.
I like a girl who does not take me seriously, you know? It's important to be able to laugh at each other.
You know obviously a big TV or film break would be lovely, but I find that I’m essentially a theatre trained actor and that’s what I love doing. I love fringe theatres in London, I love theatres like the Royal Court, Soho and the National obviously and if I could work in any of those and be a jobbing actor for a while then I’m very lucky.Collection: Lovely
I like a good cry every now and then. It releases something. There are times in my life when I'm meant to cry, but I don't actually cry. But then I can be walking down the street and it's been a few months, and things get on top of me - that's when I find myself crying.Collection: Months
You have to look at your blessings, don't you? With Thrones, I have to realize that, whatever happens, and for all the stress and the pressure that goes with it, it's been an extraordinary journey and I know I'll look back later in my life and think, 'That was crazy, that was amazing.' It's something that very, very few people experience, and I love that.Collection: Crazy
You don't want to seem too eager, too romantic - otherwise, it just looks a bit try-hard. But I do think that a first date should be intimate. So I'd choose a nice dinner somewhere cozy, not too crowded, with good wine.Collection: Nice
I love acting and I know that's a cliché, but I didn't really, I was very naïve when it came to the whole being recognized thing.Collection: Acting
I've got like a weird bond with horses. I'm kind of a horse whisperer, I don't know what it is. I'm not great on a horse. I'm getting better, but I'm not brilliant. So yeah, I've spent a lot of time with horses. They're great creatures, I love them. I do love riding them when I get the chance to.Collection: Horse