If you decide you want to work in the film industry, you just have to bite the bullet and take other jobs until the proper jobs come in.
— Luke Evans
I had a role in 'Crossroads' when I was about 21, and then I went on to perform in 'Small Change' and then 'Piaf' in the Donmar Warehouse, London, and it was when I was there that some casting directors spotted me.
People come up to me in pubs - gay pubs, mind you - and can't believe that I'm gay.
I'm not a 'Twilight' boy; I'll never be as good looking as those lads, and that's fair enough.
I've always said that theater was where I began, so everything I do now has a bit of my theater background in it. It was my training.
If you train too much, it can rule your life, and I don't think that's healthy - for men or women.
I wouldn't say being in a film with The Rock was 'motivating.' 'Terrifying' would be a more accurate description.
In all honesty, I should have given up this acting lark years ago.
Everybody knows about Peter Jackson, 'The Hobbit' movies and 'The Lord of the Rings' films being made in New Zealand, and to actually have been part of it for such a long period, to live there and to have friends that I will have for life because of that experience, is an amazing thing.
Most of the time, you do films and they can be big films, but you are rarely aware of the fan base that comes with it.
It is a very beautiful story, 'The Crow.' It is a very tragic story with huge emotional themes.
I've dabbled in period films in my career, and I've enjoyed each one.
Wales is blessed with some truly magnificent castles, full of history and a must see for visitors.
I'd like to make a film musical. That's really my dream.
When you get to work with people like Ian McKellen or directors like Peter Jackson, you sit and watch.
I don't necessarily pay extreme attention to what I wear on a daily basis, but I do love to wear something special for an important occasion or when I feel happy.
Voices are always a challenge. I always have to work at each accent I do.
I've had some pretty awful jobs that I don't miss, like working on a nightclub door, or compiling VIP lists at 3 A.M. in the morning, but sometimes it's just got to be done.
It's a lovely thing to be able to sing.
I just love the sound of a black woman's voice.
When I didn't get a job, I thought, 'Don't worry, there'll be another one.' I still live by that now. Nothing really fazes me any more.
I guess maybe directors see a face that seems to have been lived in. I know that my face has been lived in, yeah.
I don't need to be super-ripped all year round. That's a pretty miserable way to live your life.
I come from a country that lives and breathes rugby, and I didn't think there would be anywhere else in the world that could be the same. But New Zealand takes it to another dimension. It's extraordinary how much passion Kiwis have for the game.
When I'm training hard, the diet is miserable.
A longbow takes a massive draw for the arrow to go anywhere.
It was very weird because for a long time no one really recognised me from my films, but 'The Hobbit' has totally changed that, and I've had some really special moments, especially with youngsters.
I'm not one of those superstitious people.
Living in New Zealand, it's like a different world - it is a different world. It's very, very cool.
The gym is somewhere you can go to just forget for an hour what you do for a living, what you are doing on a daily basis. You just turn up and get on with it.
'The Desolation of Smaug' stands alone as an action/adventure epic movie. It's visually stunning, and the 3D is incredible. Plus, it's directed by Peter Jackson, and he's extraordinary.
The fascination for the Great Train Robbery has never diminished.
It was never really part of my plan to be in films; it was really sort of a dream.
The Sixties was all about style and a certain look. But what was interesting about 1963 was that it was pre-Beatles, so the clothes of that time, especially the suits, were very different from the clothes post-Beatlemania.
To be able to work with people who I have respected and admired, to be a part of something like the Cannes Film Festival, is surreal and brilliant.
It's good for people to look at me and think, 'This guy is doing his thing and enjoying what he's doing and successful at it and living his life.' And that's what I'm doing, and I'm very happy.
I'm this dude that can play a farmhand and a handyman and sometimes a Greek god.
I was often looked at as a leper by kids at school because I was a Jehovah's Witness. They didn't like it - you were 'weird'. And on Saturday mornings, you'd be knocking at their doors. I remember standing there with my mum and dad, thinking, 'Oh my God, I know whose door this is, and I'll have to see them on Monday.' It was terrible.
I think heroes are the people that go into houses when they're on fire and save people in hospitals.
It's good for your body to have a break. Even when you're training, you have to have a cheat day every week. The body reacts better to training if you give it intervals of not training, or you relax the diet.
Being involved in 'The Hobbit' has been a huge boost for me. It's really put me on the map and helped me be taken more seriously as an actor.
I feel that New Zealand is my second home.
One thing Tolkien does incredibly well - and this is from a lay person's point of view; I am not scholar or anything - is that you don't have to make an effort to envisage the worlds that he writes about.
I used to take my car and go down to the South Island for five or six days and climb glaciers and jump out of planes and jump off bridges and go white water rafting - a bit of thrill-seeking.
I certainly didn't want to make another movie that's 'just another Dracula film.'
From the big mountains in the north to the valleys in the south, all through my childhood and teenage years, my family would always holiday in Wales.
I would love to be able to tap dance.
I research the role, and if it's a literary character, I read the book, and if it's an historical figure, I research documents and biographies. If it's a fictional character, I work off the script.
My style is determined by the mood, the period and the circumstances which I'm going through in a given moment.
I understand, certain scenes have to have a lot of takes. As an actor, I think it's quite nice to have a handful of takes, because you don't want to do it once or twice; I think once or twice sometimes is quite terrifying because you don't really feel like you've given them what you want.
