I'd rather have one good scene in a movie by a great director than a small role in a mediocre movie.

I'm looking for challenges, and as always, what matters is the script, the character and the director.

I learned to walk on my own legs, to dive so deeply into a role to forget that I'm acting.

With 'Eagle of the Ninth,' every shot was extremely planned and organized. The director was like, 'Do this!' And I say, 'How was it?' and he says, 'Good.' It was very odd. I would never know where he was headed, or even if he was shooting me at a close-up or from a distance.

When you agree to work with a filmmaker, it's important that you accept their world. It's an adventure. I like that. I throw myself into the director's arms, into their universe.

We're seeing TV series that are as good as movies were in the '70s and '80s - shows like 'The Wire,' 'The Sopranos' and 'Breaking Bad.'