I've always been attracted to darkness.
— Martin Freeman
I don't get cast as the guy who steps off a yacht in a white linen suit with a martini.
It's always the case, whenever you're doing someone real, how much you want to do an impression or a characterisation. If I was doing Churchill, or Gandhi - people know exactly how they talked, walked.
I don't like affectation.
Coming back from doing 'The Hobbit,' you think 'Sherlock' is realistic, but of course, it's not that realistic.
I don't write anything off without reading a script, and if it's a good one, I'll consider it, whether it's for $20 or a million dollars.
I suppose the real cult things now are independent films made for a million pounds.
I enjoy fighting scenes. I like fighting in film. I like pretending to fight in films.
I want to inspire children to be obsessed over jewellery.
'The Hobbit' would have been very difficult to pass on, do you know what I mean? It's not the kind of ship that comes into dock very often.
I think what 'The Hobbit' and Middle-earth deal in are quite universal and timeless themes of honour and love and friendship... so they're things that do resonate with people.
Half of us are partly German! Half our language and culture, generally, in Anglo-Saxon terms, is German.
I think acting is all about the other people. Sounds like a worthy thing to say, but it's true.
My default state is wariness.
I know very few people who have literally improvised a film from start to finish.
Actors are people who are doing a job they want to do, which isn't the case for many of the people who watch what we do.
I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I keep forgetting to think of 'Charles II' as a costume drama.
I've always slightly envied other actors I know who have different reputations. I think, 'God, you don't get people coming up to you, going, 'Hey!' - because they're scared of you.'
I think the hardest part about anything you do for 18 months is just keeping yourself together for 18 months.
When people bully us, we are complicit in it in some way. We do allow it to happen to some extent.
Like, honest to God, I don't expect people to be into what I'm into.
Like any friendship or marriage, familiarity breeds more contempt, and love, and everything.
I've had several really tangible dreams about UFOs, and they've been amazing!
Most people aren't these grandstanding heroes.
To be honest, if people thought my performance in 'The Office' was the same as my performance in 'The Hobbit,' it would tell me everything I needed to know about what they know about acting.
I think the world needs to see more of my face.
The design of 'Love Actually,' the typeface, the basic line of that poster and that DVD cover has been ripped off so many times.
'Sherlock' is beautifully done, if I may say so myself. Even if I wasn't in it, I would like the show.
Whenever someone says to my mum: 'How's your son doing?' she says: 'Which one?' If you're a parent, you're not going to go: 'Oh I'll concentrate on the famous one.'
I am a fan of the Coen brothers. I'm not a fanatic. I'm a big admirer. They create unique worlds, and there is a real atmosphere to their films. Not everyone can get that. That's a massive part of their appeal: you can recognise them. Like all the great directors or artists, you know it when you see it.
My relationship with my belief has never been easy.
There was very little drama and performance at my school, so I've never forgotten the people who did encourage me and I've thought whether it would be a good idea to even get in touch with them and just say thanks, because they really opened a door for me mentally and emotionally - that's really important.
As soon as you get two actors in a room and they're locking eyes, they're doing a scene.
It's a funny thing, 'The Office,' because millions and millions and millions and millions of people didn't watch it. But culturally, it is more of a phenomenon than almost anything else I can remember as far as British television is concerned.
Any pigeonhole is something to be rebelled against.
I'm geek royalty now.
If everyone's just saying what they feel and doing whatever they want, there's no drama in the world. And there's also no truth to it, 'cause that's just not the truth.
I have quite catholic taste in music.
When I was at youth theatre and drama school, I never thought people would mistake me for a stand-up.
With superheroes and comics and fantasy and sci-fi being absolutely the popular currency in cinema, it's like people have said in endless magazines, it's the revenge of the geeks and all that. There's some truth in that.
I don't have sentimental attachments to characters at all.
I hope I inspire children to make films.
I like anything with my face on it, just from an aesthetic point of view.
I always kind of think if The Beatles were still around now, people would've lost interest quite a long time ago. Seven years of recording - it's there forever. I think not outstaying your welcome is a vital ingredient.
I don't think anyone looks into their family tree and expects it to come up smelling of roses.
I've got a pretty good musical ear, and I can pick things up.
All my life, I've felt people are looking at me. So, when I became known, it was like, 'I'm not imagining this any more. People genuinely are staring at me. Oh, Christ, now they're coming over!'
I think I'm less gloomy than I used to be - I've got a very supportive other half.
Organised religion, organised anything, requires commitment and requires an engagement with something. A lot of the time, we don't want to commit.
Fans want to see a story with characters, and they want to see a story.
