Quotes from Jessica Brown Findlay

I trained as a ballet dancer and fell in love with Rudolf Nureyev; I thought him the most beautiful creature. My mum had to break it to me that not only was he gay, but he was dead.

I love when people become obsessed with Downton.

There's a reason hobble skirts are called hobble skirts. You literally can't move very far in them.

Before I go on stage, I knock three times. Three is my lucky number; I once went into an audition and was number 333 and got the best part ever.

I'm hungry for a cold and mean character - I'd love it if someone thought I could play gritty. I want to play a baddie, someone really scary.

Unfortunately I had an ankle problem and underwent three operations.

I'm starting to shake it off, I am quite self-conscious, and it's only when I'm playing roles that I can escape that. The older I get, the more people tell me it's absolutely fine to be the way you are with all your quirks and nuances, and I wish I'd learnt that younger - I would have relaxed a bit more.

Performance became part of my art in a way - expressing things and emotion.

I shout at the radio when someone starts talking over the end of a song. Shut up! I don't want to hear that the DJ has just found a mouldy sandwich in the corner of the studio. Nor do I like it when the magic of something you're watching is shattered by an advert for Argos.

I absolutely adore Alessandra Rich, I think her dresses are stunning and she really knows how to cut and dress the female shape. Her stuff is really beautiful, stylish and a little bit quirky. I love it all!

Everything you listen to when you are 17 should be embarrassing, otherwise you are way too cool.

You never think you're as old as you're ever going to get.

You don't automatically assume everyone will fall for a period drama.

I've got four piercings in my left, so we've dubbed my right one the 'period drama ear.' I have to be filmed from that side when I do emotional close-ups in 'Downton.'

The thing I adore about acting is that it's not me: you get to experience all these emotions, but essentially it's not you.