Benedict Cumberbatch

“Looking for happiness is a sure way to sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes.”

“It's difficult because nothing's preordained by plan and you can't control it. That's one of those joys and thrills and nerve-racking realities of being an actor. A lot has to do with luck, no matter what your talent or contribution can be.”

“One of the best things about being an actor is that it's a meritocracy.”

“I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.”

“I've always wanted to play a spy, because it is the ultimate acting exercise. You are never what you seem.”

“I was brought up in a world of privilege.”

“When you start getting jobs, and see your mates from drama school, you don't really want to talk about it, because you have this innate sense of guilt that it's not fair that others aren't doing exactly what you're doing. I do have that.”

“Mystique is rare now, isn't it? There aren't that many enigmas in this modern world.”

“I'm a Prince of Wales Trust ambassador, so I'm all about giving youth an education, a voice and a chance to not take the wrong road.”

“I drag a lot of stuff round with me that I don't need.”

“My own grandfathers were a submarine commander and a 'desert rats' tank operator in the Second World War.”

“It does get strange when you realize people will hang around for hours to get a glimpse of you doing scenes outside.”

“When are you ever settled enough to have kids?”

“I want to be able to play trailer-bound fatties in a Judd Apatow comedy.”

“The world of 'Sherlock Holmes' and the world that we live in now is big enough to take more than one interpretation.”

“I'm not confident in social situations; just going up to someone in a bar and saying 'Hi' is going to be even more difficult because they won't know the real me. They will just know me as a fictional person I play on the screen.”

“Do I like being thought of as attractive? I don't know anyone on Earth who doesn't, but I do find it funny.”

“I was always performing, doing silly voices. The teachers realized I could go one of two ways: be creative or destructive.”

“Lines are very difficult to learn.”

“As an actor, you are aware of how a role can seep into your real life.”