Benedict Cumberbatch

“There's so much in the 21st century that is stymied by bureaucracy and mediocrity and committee.”

“We're living through a time where we are fighting wars fostered by politics, admittedly not on the same scale as the First World War, but with equally tragic realities for our soldiers and their families.”

“My first agent dissuaded me from calling myself 'Cumberbatch.' I had six months of not very productive time with her, so I changed agents. The new one said, 'Why aren't you using your family name? It's a real attention-grabber.' I worried, 'How much is it going to cost to put my name in lights?' But then I decided that's not my problem.”

“I have an appetite for the normal in my life, as well as the abnormal.”

“I was thrilled with how the first series of 'Sherlock' was received. It was such great fun to film, which makes it so rewarding when something you enjoy is so well received.”

“The armoury of having any academic education does not necessarily set you up for being a good or better actor.”

“I wasn't born into land or titles, or new money, or an oil rig.”

“I struggle to learn by rote. I've had meltdowns on set. Which is embarrassing and shameful.”

“People's hands fascinate me. It's tempting to look at a businessman's left hand and see if there's an indentation from a missing wedding ring. Or maybe there's a tan line and the skin is pressed down where's he's worked a ring off his finger.”

“If you have an over-preoccupation with perception and trying to please people's expectations, then you can go mad.”

“Any privacy in public is a hard thing to negotiate.”

“My mum and dad had worked incredibly hard to afford me an education.”

“I have actual acting scars.”

“We all want to escape our circumstances, don't we? Especially if you are an actor.”

“I love theatre, and you learn too much as an actor and enjoy too much of it not to want to go back a lot.”

“I am a PR disaster because I talk too much.”

“When you're a kid, 'Star Trek' is a slower burn. It's funny, it's entertaining, but it also has a maturity about it - which is its universal appeal, I think.”

“Talking about class terrifies me. There is no way of winning.”

“To get a horse to hit a mark without a rider, to get it to stand up, to get it to rear, to get it to pick up a bucket and bring it over is amazing. It's hard work and very rewarding but can be dangerous.”

“I got live tweeted once by someone who was opposite my home in some rented accommodation. He was actually describing on twitter what I was doing. 'I took a shirt off, I went to the window, I put a shirt back on... ' And I've got blinds in my flat!”