Quotes from Michelle Dockery

I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Instagram and follow Lena Dunham and Usher.

There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.

I think some period drama can be quite alienating, but 'Downton' isn't. This is going to sound quite, um, pretentious, but someone said that it's like a soap written by a poet.

In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.

My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.

We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays - I can travel where I like, I can do any job I want - but I think chivalry has been lost a little bit.

I do believe in one true love.

I just want a really varied career, and just to keep going, really.

Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.

'Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.

I'm not from aristocracy, or anything like that.

It's great to have a home and everything else that comes with it.

I get so excited about reading a new script.

People will consider me a part of their lives for however long 'Downton Abbey' lasts. It's a lovely thing to feel as an actor.

My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.