I do believe in pensions.
— Richard C. Armitage
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.
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 men who went to war, and I think, really, that's what he's writing about.
I'm not much of a show-off.
I'm looking forward to getting fat and old.
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 well as physical; if I don't train, I get very depressed.
Once you don't smile on film, they say, 'Let's have that bloke who doesn't smile.'
You can't reject anything in your life as an artist. Everything has its use.
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 from the evening actually having learnt nothing about me.
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.
My mum will not speak above a low whisper in public because she doesn't want to draw attention to herself.
I'm a late developer in everything. I have a fast mind and fast metabolism, and I'm an intense worker, but in terms of life development, I'm way behind.
I'm not interested in building wealth, which is kind of naive and probably frowned on, living in America. It's something that people don't necessarily understand, but if I die poor, I die poor.
I think insanity is the hardest thing to play.
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.
You fight for certain roles, and you realise they're being filled by television and film actors, because theatre is constantly fighting for survival and they need names and faces and ticket sales.
I feel like my imagination was crafted by Tolkien. He seemed to tap into that childhood intrigue of secret doors and hidden worlds.
Small, slow growth is the best I expect from an investment. I'm a real saver: frugal - like my parents.
There's a very strong force in Tolkien's characters.
You can spend a bit of yourself when you give yourself to a character. At the end of a job, you have to remind yourself who and what you are.
I am just not a water baby. I can swim, but I just don't.
I don't really like making too much of a statement with what I'm wearing.
A full beard looks cool.
I'd like a bit of a crack at some kind of anarchic comedy, but whether or not I'm skillful enough at it all, we'll see.
I kind of got lost down a road of TV and film, so it's great to come back to theatre.
I'd like to act in a film without special effects.
Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.
I don't think actors need to go on pedestals. I don't buy it.
People get to know me slowly and over the course of time. I'll probably still be a newcomer when I'm 60.
I didn't become an actor because I thought I'd make lots of money.
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.
It is possible to work out of New York on film and television and still not lose your connection to theater.
It fills me with dismay sometimes when you look at the scripts that do come to you that are primarily focused on violence. There are so many other things to play around with.
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 up quickly in the submarine.
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.
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.
I suppose I'm a bit mean. My face on camera doesn't lend itself to happy nice guys. I think it's just that my bone structure looks menacing.
I've done an awful lot of skiing all over Europe: I've done Italy, Austria, France. I skied loads in New Zealand - I did pretty much every ski slope I could find.
I'm probably not very good at rom-com, being funny on demand; I'll leave that to the comedians.
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 friends. I think he writes about that a lot in 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings.'
I'd like to live off-grid.
I never like to go out of character when filming starts. I fear that if I do, I might not be able to pick it up again.
I have a bit of pride, which is always my downfall.
I've never been that cute kid that was forgiven for being naughty.
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 its own. I'm very excited about it.
I come from very conservative parents, and we weren't particularly wealthy, but we were comfortable.
Light, trivial comedy does not appeal - it is not something I go to see.
I know what Twitter is; I don't use it. I don't use Facebook, so luckily, it does zero to my ego.
You know, to an extent, Method acting feels occasionally lazy.
