Quotes from Joseph Fiennes

I guess, as an actor, you have to bring something personal to the character - you've got to identify and love one element of the character, or else you can't really inhabit and find ownership.

I want my daughters to live in a world where there is equality and parity of pay.

I like language, and in film, language is diluted by the visuals and the music. Theatre is what I was trained for.

I have two sisters that are directors: one's in documentary, one's in film. My mother was a writer and a painter, so I've been surrounded since childhood by dynamic women and female voices in arts.

The idea that I had a bohemian childhood is laughable.

But it's a strange thing when people judge you because you're not doing some big Hollywood film. Are you suggesting I should be in 'The Dukes of Hazzard?' I mean, hello?

I think academics are infuriating. For every expert on Shakespeare there is another one to cancel his theory out. It drives you up the wall. I think the greatest form of finding out the truth is through fantasy.

If you want to make idols accessible - which I think Shakespeare should be - then you have to bring a human touch, make it self-effacing and warm.

I never went into acting to do film. I went into it to do theatre - classical roles.

Give me a sword fight any day.

Doubt is crucial, I think, in every character I have ever played.

I think 'The Handmaid's Tale' always had that power since it was written over 30 years ago. This extraordinary piece of feminist literature had its fan base then, but TV has given it an enormous reach.

The great thing about films is that you have access to this whole world of experts who teach you the skills your character's supposed to have.

Working backstage as a teenager made me realise there's not much glamour in this profession - just lots of hard work. That's a good thing to learn early on.

I love to read profiles about people, but I'm interested in their processes. I only ever do them for newspapers that I love.

It all felt like a terribly long time. It would have meant that I had to make five movies in five years and if you don't like the movies, too bad. I guess I just wanted my freedom, and I think my life has been incredibly enhanced as a result.

When you wake up, and you see that America has pulled out of the climate deal in Paris, that sends huge messages about putting coal before the planet.

There is a bit of me if I'm pushed in one way I might bounce back and go the opposite.

What I don't find compelling is doing classical plays that everyone already knows - and people are following with the text in their hand because no one is listening.

I am a twin, but my brother and I aren't identical, so it's not such a big deal. But when you share bunk beds and birthdays and a womb with someone, you have a special connection. It definitely feels different from the relationship I have with my other siblings - my twin and I are more connected. Jacob is a conservationist.

Pretty much all films I've seen that depict the life of Christ end with the Crucifixion, almost like the filmmakers don't know what to do after.

I don't know what my limitations are until I reach them. I look for the challenge.

You know what? Joy is the only guide. I'm going to have fun regardless.

There are always going to be times when it doesn't flow as much as you were hoping. So of course I'm going to fail. And when I do fail I hope I fail better and better, again and again. I am happy to fail.