Quotes from Damian Lewis

I just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing.

I've done classical theaters. I played Hamlet myself and Romeo.

My heroes were all in the theatre.

I want to do theatre and film and direct my own things and develop.

I found that the quality of TV material that came to me was so great and was just often better than the film material I got. And when I find a good movie that I really like, I jump on it because it's exciting to do.

We had a good time mucking about during 'Band of Brothers' when we were young and single.

'24' had to withstand accusations of being right-wing, but 'Homeland' is a far more liberal show.

There are ways of avoiding becoming tabloid fodder and therefore giving people license to pry into your private life. And there's a distinction between being an actor and being a celebrity. You may become a celebrity through acting, but you don't need to do so.

If you think you don't want to play another psychopath, but the script is amazing, and the director is fantastic, and the story is incredible, then you may end up playing your third psychopath in a row.

I've had loss in my life, and I like to think my mother's energy lives on in some faintly Buddhist way. I do find some comfort there.

L.A. still ranks as one of my guilty pleasures, along with butter-pecan ice cream and Coldplay albums.

I'd feel guilty just doing gags.

There are lots of different reasons to choose roles.

Writing and directing might be a red herring, and really I'm just re-examining what it is to act, to do it well and do it properly.

It's good to be busy on a film set because there is a lot of sitting around, so if you've got two roles to play at one time, then that's great to do.

Why do you think so many actors are only half-developed people? It's very easy when you're a young actor to have these intense, explosive friendships for short periods of time, because you can control what's shown of you. Then you go on to your next job and reinvent yourself again. I think it's important to find something constant.

There's a high head count on 'Homeland.'

I loved doing 'Homeland.' I loved playing Brody.

All you should try to do is behave with honour. If you can. At all times.

Quiet people, people who aren't given to emotional outbursts, people who are economic with words - they're also fun to play, but you find yourself needing a laser precision in those roles. Otherwise you just sort of stand around, looking slightly brain-dead. You worry about being uninteresting.

My wife has a horror the children will start talking American if we spend too much time out there.

If you pick up an eighteenth-century play, at the top it says 'The Argument,' and then you have a list of characters, and then you have the play. I was just always struck by that - that, of course, good drama is about conflict.

It's sad that children don't spend enough time looking around and being amazed by what's in the real world.

I guess I'm just good at playing repressed individuals. I'm lucky because those are often the roles that catch people's eyes.