Michelle Dockery quotes:

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  • Shakespeare is renewed each time you see it or read it. I've seen 'Midsummer Night's Dream' so many times, and each time it's a little different, or a different line leaps out at me. It's like re-reading a good book over and over, always noticing something you hadn't seen the time before - and that's rare.

  • I think the success of 'Downton' is partly because there are effectively 18 leading characters, all given equal importance, so it's enormously involving on many levels. But also, it's a new story. It's not like Dickens or Austen, where everyone knows the denouement.

  • Expect nothing and hope for the best' is my mantra. A drama teacher called Joseph Blatchley told me that, and it's the best advice I've had. If you keep an open mind and don't expect too much, then you won't be disappointed.

  • I love cycling, but if I could find a way of building something above the streets for cyclists, that would be amazing. We need even more space.

  • Being in the same scenes as Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine is something I will never forget.

  • I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and it's something that carries with me to this day.

  • Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.

  • The way I see it, the third series of 'Downton Abbey' is all about change and how each character adapts to those changes.

  • The kitchen is the most important place in any house. Visit your family, and that's where you'll end up. Go to a party, that's where everyone congregates.

  • I wasn't an academic. I hated maths and science at school. I couldn't concentrate.

  • I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Instagram and follow Lena Dunham and Usher.

  • Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.

  • My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.

  • I think the first time I realised 'Downton Abbey' was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about 'Downton Abbey,' and then they recognised me.

  • I don't mind wearing a corset, it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.

  • I've had moments of thinking maybe I should go on Twitter. It's something that I've been shy about, and I've thought that maybe I should do it.

  • It's a bit of a history lesson, being an actor. I was in 'Burnt By The Sun' at the National, which was set in Stalinist Russia, so I discovered all about that. You learn so much as you go along.

  • I really enjoy singing, it's entirely different to acting because I'm just being myself.

  • I do believe in one true love.

  • It is impossible to watch a 'Friends' episode too many times. Phoebe is my favourite character. I used to play her songs on the guitar when I was a teenager. 'Smelly Cat' is very easy. It's only about three chords.

  • If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.

  • I can be so blown away by story lines.

  • Shakespeare and his work will always be relevant. He wrote those pieces hundreds of years ago and we haven't really changed as humans, have we? We have to deal with love, honour and adultery now - people were the same then, too - that's what's so wonderful and powerful.

  • I'm not accident prone, really, but I was cutting something and sort of lost control, and it went through my big toe. There was a lot of blood and I nearly fainted, but its totally fine now.

  • My family keeps me sane. I try to talk to my mum every other day. After I get off the phone, I have a renewed sense of clarity, so I guess a problem shared is a problem lost. It's important to me to keep them close.

  • It's always fun to play dress up.

  • I think some period drama can be quite alienating, but 'Downton' isn't. This is going to sound quite, um, pretentious, but someone said that it's like a soap written by a poet.

  • My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.

  • When I was a child, I went to stage school three times a week in the evenings - singing, ballet, tap, modern and acting, and I loved it.

  • It's old news, me and my accent, but it always seems to make headlines.

  • I come from a very working-class background, so my family would have been downstairs in the past, as opposed to upstairs. People are often quite surprised to hear that, that I'm not actually posh.

  • At the age of eight, I auditioned for 'The Sound of Music' and made it through to the third round, where we all stood in a row like the Von Trapp family and had to sing.

  • I'm quite into the French way - simple elegance with just a suggestion of sexiness, nothing vulgar.

  • Playing Isabella in 'Measure for Measure' pushed me to my limits. Janet Suzman was directing, and she was very hard on me. I went through phases of not liking her at the time, but I loved her for it in the end.

  • A good friend of mine works at Oxfam and has been closely involved in the charity's aid efforts in Syria.

  • My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it was amazing. I got big bonus points for it. I'll remind them when they're teenagers.

  • The journey matters as much as the destination. By engaging in the moment on set, I've stopped rushing and now find pleasure in the collaborative process - the characters, the costumes - rather than worrying about the finished product.

  • There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.

  • For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.

  • Silk scarves are my thing. I tie them to my handbag or thread them through belt loops or wear them in my hair. Never round my neck, though.

  • I'm taller than most actresses, so most corsets tend to be too short in the body.

  • I think so often you can come out of drama school and get thrown in the deep end.

  • I loved the 'Die Hard' films growing up and the 'Taken' movies. They're so entertaining, and I enjoy being on the edge of my seat.

  • In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.

  • I worked out; I moved 16 times from the age of 19, just hopping about from different flats, because I couldn't always afford to stay.

  • Laugh at yourself - a lot. My mum taught me not to take myself too seriously.

  • I just want a really varied career, and just to keep going, really.

  • Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.

  • Cooking can cure almost anything.

  • 'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.

  • I don't get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.

  • I don't mind wearing a corset; it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.

  • I get so excited about reading a new script.

  • I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and its something that carries with me to this day.

  • I love discovering tiny streets.

  • I think the first time I realised Downton Abbey was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about Downton Abbey, and then they recognised me.

  • The last time I cried? My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it was amazing. I got big bonus points for it. I'll remind them when they're teenagers.

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