To me, all success is a delightful surprise, since one can absolutely never predict it.
— Julian Fellowes
There is almost nothing in your house that does not tell something about you.
You know, I'm not a revolutionary.
For most directors, the scriptwriter is about as welcome on set as a member of the Taliban.
I think America has dealt with - I mean, this is simplistic, and of course I don't live in America - but the impression I get is that there is not a kind of obligation to dislike those who are better off or be frightened of those who are worse off.
The English country house is certainly an icon of British culture.
I think I have a very detailed sense of observation. I am interested in the details of people's lives and what information these details give.
We don't really like rules. We think, in some way, they are an infringement of liberty.
Most of us don't want to be outsiders.
My own belief is that most people are trying to do their best. It doesn't mean they have no nasty side, or that they don't have a bad temper, or that they have never done anything they feel ashamed of. But fiction operates on people waking up trying to be horrible, and I don't think most people are trying to be horrible.
I mean the truth is, I've always been interested in the whole setup of the Old World.
My parents came from different backgrounds. My father's was grander than my mother's, so my mother had... to put up with the disapproval of my father's relations.
What you have to understand about period drama is that it's 'history light.'
