Jack Davenport quotes:

I try to choose the projects that I think are the most well-written and well-executed, and the rest of it is so beyond my control to be almost not worth thinking about at all.

Ask Mother for advice on breaking into show business.

I grew up in an acting family. I was heavily discouraged from doing it myself when I was young, which is the only responsible route to take with any child, because it's not necessarily the easiest of lives.

When my father was a young actor, it is absolutely true that the vast majority were fairly middle class. Then all of a sudden, people like Albert Finney burst through and turned all that on its head.

In terms of the pilot, you have to introduce a lot of characters in a very short period of time, and you have to paint with slightly broad brush strokes because you just need to give an audience an idea of who these people might be.

Gay nightclubs offer better dance music.

During my childhood, I was surrounded by actors, and all I remember is they were fun to be around. That kind of sticks.

My maternal grandmother, Penelope, was a very big figure in my life. She was a child of the Raj, born in India, a debutante who hobnobbed with royals, then married a Canadian, Bill Aitken, who became MP for Bury St Edmunds.

I'm close to both my parents and very proud of what they've achieved.

Cue actor platitude, but I've been very fortunate and worked pretty consistently and have felt rather annoyingly grateful that I got to do what I got to do.

Acting is a cruel enough business. One minute everyone's going 'Hey!' and the next they're going 'Who?'. You certainly don't need people knowing your private business, especially if you want to come out with your head still attached.

During my childhood, I was surrounded by actors and all I remember is they were fun to be around. That kind of sticks.

If you do something and it proves to be a success, then people go 'get him to do that type of thing again, but only slightly different'. Either you do that or you go 'No! I want to play a leprous, lesbian dwarf from Guatemala!' But those parts just aren't coming to me.

People tell me that Hollywood loves new faces, but I don't know. They're probably just being nice.

Adult actors are really childish, and that's nice to be around when you're a kid. So the big reason I wanted to be an actor was I really enjoyed actors' company - which probably makes me about as shallow as a puddle. But it could be worse. I could be working for a living.

My parents divorced when I was seven. Because divorce is messy, for good or ill, they sent me to boarding school.

When you look to the past, don't sit and dwell on your regrets. Instead, focus on the things you learned from each experience and how they may enrich your future. Use the past not as something to hold you back, but as a method for reaffirming the drive to move forward on your chosen path.

I grew up in an acting family. I was heavily discouraged from doing it myself when I was young, which is the only responsible route to take with any child, because its not necessarily the easiest of lives.

Adult actors are really childish, and thats nice to be around when youre a kid. So the big reason I wanted to be an actor was I really enjoyed actors company - which probably makes me about as shallow as a puddle. But it could be worse. I could be working for a living.

Acting is a cruel enough business. One minute everyones going Hey! and the next theyre going Who?. You certainly dont need people knowing your private business, especially if you want to come out with your head still attached.