Eileen Atkins

“I'm told I am over-choosy, and I shocked everybody by doing Jeffrey Archer. I did that to annoy everybody; sometimes, between Medea and Virginia Woolf, you can get punch-drunk.”

“I hate tight, tight stuff showing every line. I want to be sick when people are in Lycra.”

“My grammar school caught on to the fact that the reason I was falling asleep in class was that I was doing working men's clubs till 10 or 11 at nights. My mother was told I shouldn't do it anymore. Of course, I was bringing in money to the family, so nobody liked hearing that.”

“The idea of an actor is that you should be able to play anything.”

“On the street where I lived, they almost didn't know the word 'university,' and my mother was simply appalled when it was suggested to her that I was to go to a drama college.”

“I imagine I'll retire mid-performance. I'll say, 'Sorry, everyone, I can't do this anymore. I must have suddenly aged.' Then I'll walk off. Yes, I'm sure that's how.”

“I don't believe in remaking television series. I should never have agreed to reviving 'Upstairs Downstairs' because my heart wasn't in it, but part of me did think about my pension.”

“Bad things happen. Cope!”

“I believe I was put on this planet to act, and it's given me huge fulfilment. I feel I've realised my destiny, and I've had a very, very good time doing it.”

“It's no use ignoring looks or charm if you're going into the theatre.”

“There seem to be two sorts of actors. Some people play themselves marvellously, and others, like me, rather like to become someone else.”

“I think most British people who say they can do an American accent are so bad at it. I find it excruciating. I find it excruciating the other way around, too.”

“Wheels come off? Get on with it. Cope. Survive.”

“It's extraordinary to hear waves of laughter after you've been playing something, night after night, to nothing. That's why I'm still hooked on acting: the terror of the possibility of things going wrong, the thrill when they go right, and the joy of the company.”

“Losing friends is the worst thing about getting older.”

“I'd hardly seen any movies when I was 19 and left drama school.”

“Film was something I didn't really think about when I was young, because if you looked like me, you weren't a film star.”

“Acting is not in the blood. My parents weren't actors, but I imagine that if you've been brought up with actors, you have a lovely time at home and just want that to carry on.”

“I'm rarely wrong.”

“My looks were good enough for what I needed in every possible way but not so much to be a burden.”