I don’t think actors need to go on pedestals. I don’t buy it.

Light, trivial comedy does not appeal – it is not something I go to see.

It’s bloody annoying being shy. I’ll spend a whole evening at a party asking everyone else about themselves. I’m not being self-deprecating; it’s because I’m too shy to talk about myself. So people come away...

I think if I had come out of drama school and been an instant Hollywood superstar, I would be taking long, leisurely holidays.

The interesting roles have only come since I got into my 30s. But I didn’t know that was going to happen.

Everyone loves a good baddie.

I’d like to act in a film without special effects.

Being thought of as sexy makes one employable, but it’s not going to last forever, so I try not to think about it. It’s like something that exists outside of me.

I feel like my imagination was crafted by Tolkien. He seemed to tap into that childhood intrigue of secret doors and hidden worlds.

Monet was like a conductor. He painted with quite a straight arm and used bold strokes.

My instruction to my parents is that I would rather they enjoy their retirement than leave me anything when they go. I am much happier watching them enjoying life.

I think insanity is the hardest thing to play.

There’s a very strong force in Tolkien’s characters.

Give me a character that has an heroic quality, and I’ll go there.

I’d like to live off-grid.

I confess I’ve got a yearning to go to Los Angeles, but I can’t work out if it is because a lot of British actors seem to go or because there’s this perception that the...

I have a bit of pride, which is always my downfall.

My mum will not speak above a low whisper in public because she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself.

People like continuity, and the good old cliffhanger every week is something they enjoy. I enjoy it – I don’t want to dip into just one episode when I turn on the TV.

I think my fighting skills have certainly been improved by working with Peter Jackson.

To survive in a profession like this, you have to have absolute discipline and commitment, and I did not quite have it for musical theater.

I am just not a water baby. I can swim, but I just don’t.

I’m looking forward to getting fat and old.

I have an accountant, obviously, because I’m self employed, and I use an independent financial adviser. I trust my accountant because we have worked together for a long time now.

I have a visual mind, so when I read a book, I get an instant picture in my head and it’s very clear.

Often you find the character through the things they say. How they talk about other people, how they describe themselves – which is very rare.

The narrative that Peter Jackson has put into ‘The Battle of the Five Armies,’ it stands alone as a film. Rather than just finishing off the story, it’s like a whole new adventure all of...

Trying to please everyone can be very hard, but, like ‘Shrek’ or ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Robin Hood’ manages to entertain adults and children at the same time, but in different ways.

I think that internal conflict works very well, because, after all, all the best drama is fuelled by conflict.

Tolkien made dwarf sign language because, you know, it’s too loud to talk in the mines.

I can work hard and be disciplined like a soldier, but I could never reach their level of fitness.

I’m not much of a show-off.

I think that when Tolkien created Gollum and the ring, he even expressed in his biography that he never really knew what he created until he went back and looked at it.

I have been to the theater more since I have lived in New York than I ever really did in London working on a television show.

People get to know me slowly and over the course of time. I’ll probably still be a newcomer when I’m 60.

The scariest stunt I’ve ever done was on ‘Captain America.’ We were doing some underwater sequence. I was in a submarine, and Chris Evans had to break the glass, and the water had to fill...

I read everything that Tolkien wrote, and also read biographies of him. I was fascinated by his experiences in World War I, which includes the loss of life of some of his very, very close...

I want to be strong enough to cope with the roles, but I don’t want to be cast as the guy that takes his shirt off.

Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.

I can’t bear shopping. I can choose clothes for my characters, but not for myself. I’ve got no dress sense. Or I’ve lost it.

I’m probably not very good at rom-com, being funny on demand; I’ll leave that to the comedians.

I try to keep at a non-obsessive level of fitness. It’s not about looking great, it’s about just feeling good. So I do a lot of yoga. Bikram just blows my mind. It’s mental as...

I kind of got lost down a road of TV and film, so it’s great to come back to theatre.

Personally, I’m not interested in getting more money for what I do; I’m just interested in more money being put into the production.

Tolkien was, I believe, writing about his experience in the First and Second World Wars, where he would have spent a lot of time without any female contact. He was part of the fellowship of...

I think most five-foot-two people would be quite offended if they were to be called dwarves.

I want to live in Middle-earth, actually.

When I told my mom I was going to audition for ‘The Hobbit,’ she said, ‘Well, you’ve always loved Tolkien.’ And she was right.

I come from very conservative parents, and we weren’t particularly wealthy, but we were comfortable.

I’ve become one of those actors who find it difficult to say ‘no’ when things are offered.