Natalie Dormer quotes:

When I wake up on a Sunday morning with a slight hangover, in the gym with no makeup on, that's who Natalie Dormer really is. The girl next door who gets a spot on her forehead occasionally.

Because of my job, I get a lot of opportunity to grab a few days here and there in many cool cities for press commitments, magazine shoots and premieres - Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Paris, Stockholm, New York, Berlin. I always try to get to a gallery or museum if there's time.

The beauty of 'The Hunger Games' and also 'Game of Thrones,' in fairness, both projects have really complex, three-dimensional, contradictory, strong women... The writing of female characters is extraordinary and equal to the men.

For me, it's not necessarily interesting to play a strong, fearless woman. It's interesting to play a woman who is terrified and then overcomes that fear. It's about the journey. Courage is not the absence of fear, it's overcoming it.

Cutting one side of your head for a few months is not a big deal compared with what other people have to deal with in the world. Plus, hair grows back.

Perfect is very boring, and if you happen to have a different look, that's a celebration of human nature, I think. If we were all symmetrical and perfect, life would be very dull.

What I love about 'Mockingjay, Part 1' is that President Coin or Cressida could have easily been played by a man, and if you look at 'Interstellar,' the Anne Hathaway or Jessica Chastain roles would have been men years ago.

My first time to Rome was when I was backpacking with my best friend around Europe for a month at 18 years old, so I remember that excitement of being away from home properly for the first time.

I screen tested for 'The Tudors' in N.Y. That was my first experience of N.Y., being flown here to screen test with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. So I have very, very fond memories of New York - New York helped give me my first big break.

Isn't it lovely to know that even the great Sherlock Holmes, the quirky and genius Sherlock Holmes, is vulnerable to love as we all are?

I love watching the old movies. I love Katharine Hepburn. I just adore her and everything that she stood for. I find it interesting watching the likes of Gene Tierney and those classic movies of the '40s.

There was a woman in Elizabeth I's court that happened to have the same family name as me.

The Gili Islands gave me some of my best scuba diving experiences, including tons of turtles.

I think the beauty of the writing of 'Game of Thrones' is not that the characters are fearless; it's how they overcome their fear, you know?

You can think what you like of Madonna - about her political choices and her PR - but you have to respect her courage not to let the critics stop her exploring her potential.

Travel is so important in its capacity to expand the mind. It's exciting to start as young as possible - you get to see how other cultures live, challenge your senses, and try different cuisines.

It's a writer's or director's role to be cerebral, whereas for an actor it should be a visceral, gut thing. When the action starts, it's best to turn the brain off and let it become an instinctual thing.

So many little girls dream about their wedding day. But with actresses, sometimes it's the inverse, because we get to be the centre of attention, looked up and down, dressed up for premieres all the time. The pull isn't quite as great.

Famously, Anne Boleyn was not a beauty: she was more about quirkiness and an innate sensuality, and there are a lot of references to her eyes. Which sends out a great message for women, because life is not about the aesthetic all the time.

What makes me really happy is a walk in the English countryside. A nice sunset, that British countryside - it means I'm home.

I love being part of huge mega blockbusters, and I love being a part of small independent films and small stage.

I'm not going to comment about potential jobs in the future because that's a rabbit hole to go down and get caught up in, but all I'll say is I'll go where the good scripts are.

I'm not clever enough to be in machinations and real politics.

When I was a little girl, my grandfather, who I was very close to, used to grow yellow roses. He had yellow roses growing all the way up his drive.

When I turn on the news in Paris, the way Syria is covered is different from the way it is covered in Washington, D.C., or London. Even in Western society, where we hold all the values of democracy and freedom of speech, as soon as you point a camera in a particular direction, there is an angle - literally and figuratively.

As an actress, as you get older, you find yourself in a situation where you play mothers or women who are hoping to be mothers.

I meet fascinating people I respect and idolise all the time.

Women have a lot of... attitudes enforced in us about our sense of attractiveness being bound up in long, flowing, Hollywood kind of hair.

I know I'm not a conventional beauty. You can read a lot of painful things on the Internet, which criticise you aesthetically - but as far as I'm concerned, that's not what an actress is.

I'm a feminist in the true sense of the word. It's about equality.

My yoga mat comes everywhere. Keeps me stretched out after sitting still on all those planes, trains and road journeys.

I did every job under the sun from bartending to ushering to temping.

I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.

The train system in India is chaotic and fun - it's the best way to see the landscape. Being in with all the families and also being the odd animal is a colourful experience you'll never forget.

Emilia Clarke has beautiful brunette hair.

The hair department on 'Game of Thrones' is incredible.

Everything that I do to my own hair and makeup I learned from professionals.

When you have that long, flowing hair, you feel different - when you cut it, the framing of your face changes immediately.

As an actor, you spend a lot of your life in hotel rooms.

The world is changing so quickly, and actors now have this huge platform of social media to interact with their audiences, but I choose not to have a social media footprint. I'm old-school like that.

It's fascinating how much of our sense of attractiveness and feminine identity is bound up in our hair.

I'm always open to trying out new things.

I try to stay consciously away from the roles of the girl who throws herself at the leading man, because I've done it a lot and I want to move on. I ticked that box.

We don't have enough young, female antiheroes. We don't accept women as antiheroes the way we do the men.

We live in one of the most complex ages for young, professional women.

These are moments in your life to be cherished; they don't come around that often. To be flying around in a 'Game of Thrones' jet, to be greeted by massive enthusiasts.

I would love to go to the Himalayas and cross over into Nepal to do the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

A lot of boys in my poker circle are mathematicians who play on probability. I don't have that kind of brain, so I rely on instinct. But I recently found out that poker and cards in general go way back in my family gene pool.

I always tell people this: to be a savvy politician or a good head of state and to be charitable are not mutually exclusive things.

For me, the sexiest men don't know they're drop-dead gorgeous. Not that I'd ever rule out a pot-bellied plumber in the right circumstances.

There are a lot of parallels between the historical Henry VIII and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. There's an oscillation and extremity of emotion throughout his repertoire that lends itself beautifully to the nature of Henry VIII, definitely. He will push things to the limit, and yet remain in emotional control.

I know people think that acting is not quite the occupation of grown-ups, but it is actually the ultimate learning process: You get a multitude of experiences, all for the price of one life.

I was a very physical child... I was a tree-climber; I was a tomboy.

It is impossible for human beings not to view something subjectively.

I feel like I've really earnt my stripes - I feel ready to play a lead. I would just love to prove I'm good enough to carry a project.

Make-up is all about shading; it's about tactical application.

I was so excited to work with Ridley Scott. Who wouldn't be?

Sometimes a woman's looks or sensuality are too readily wrapped up in their power.

I was frequently told at drama school that I was thinking too much.

I'm a serial monogamist and would never dream of being as predatory as some of the women I've played. I can actually be a bit shy.

As a child, I was prancing around in my mother's high heels and a ra-ra skirt, singing 'Material Girl' into my hairbrush.

Actors have this amazing skill - we bond quite quickly but equally we move on quite quickly. There's nothing particularly cold or capricious about it - we're troubadours and lead a troubadour's lifestyle.

It's funny how being an actor forces you to do things or go places that you wouldn't ordinarily.

When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American woman will head over, and I think, 'Game of Thrones.' Turns out it's 'The Tudors' or 'Elementary' or 'The Hunger Games.' It's always a surprise.

I'm a quasi-only child. With my brother and sister, I've more of a tendency to be semi-maternal. So, yes, I spent a lot of time talking to myself - I had this big dressing-up box and would just dress up as lots of characters and talk back to myself... Verging on schizophrenia, I suppose, if you analyse it carefully.

Anne Boleyn is an intriguing character. She seems to appeal to modern-day women in a very potent way. Because she was such an independently opinionated and spirited young woman, which at the time was unheard of.

Privacy is important to me. But it's not just about sticking two fingers up and saying I don't want anyone to know my business. It's an artistic choice. I think that for any actor to convince their audience that they have completely inhabited a character requires a certain level of anonymity.

The most amazing set where I've shot 'Game of Thrones' is definitely Croatia, in Dubrovnik. It's such a stunning country with lots of good watersports there as well. Just a beautiful, beautiful place.

I had a period of unemployment for about nine months after my first big break, and it's the greatest lesson I ever could have learned, never to believe you're home and dry.

I have been to Canada several times. It was autumn when I visited Vancouver, and I will always remember the colour of the trees in British Columbia were stunning.

I've always been a history lover. I've spent a lot of recreational time walking around historical castles and estates, in Britain and Europe, and so I know what the real thing looks like.

I think women have always been trying to look healthy. The makeup artists just teach you the quick cheats.

Nothing is taken lightly in 'The Hunger Games.'

You'd have to be an idiot to say no to 'Hunger Games.'

My role as Ewan McGregor's girlfriend in the film 'Incendiary' ended up on the cutting-room floor, but at least I had two brilliant days of acting with Ewan.

I love to drive. My present to myself from 'The Tudors' was a red Mazda MX5 hard-top convertible. I loved that car, and also what she represented - my first success.

Being seduced by a man on crutches was an interesting experience.

I don't know if I'm a daredevil, exactly, but I do enjoy a good challenge. It's the only way you grow.

When girls bully, it's very subtle, and you can't define it. At least with boys, the bullying is usually explicit, and you can deal with it. It's psychological with girls.

Good style - regardless of fads - means the thing that suits your body.

I get accused of having a haughty smugness. I have a lopsided mouth. I can't help it. I was born with it. It looks as if I am smirking. I have had my publicist tell me, 'Don't do that smile on the red carpet.' I'm, like, 'That's my smile.'

I was frequently told at drama school that I was thinking too much. And I still have to suppress that part of me because it can sometimes be a hindrance.

I'm quite physical. I'm from one of those dog-walking families where hiking up a mountain is meant to be fun.

My party trick is that I can get ready to go to the party really quickly. I'm actually a woman that can have a shower, dry and style her hair, do her make-up and get dressed in under an hour.

Fashion, historically, is how people make statements about themselves or communicate.

I think we all remember Emma Peel from 'The Avengers,' the feminist icon that she was in the late '60s.

The Hunger Games' has something for everyone.

Dormer by name, Dormer by nature: I love to sleep.

Women are over 50 percent of the population.

Sci-fi always runs out a little bit ahead of reality, right? Automatic doors in 'Star Trek,' stuff like that. It all happened, didn't it, finally?

I've played a lot of elegance and refinement, so to do something really down and dirty is a great attraction.

A character on a page has to feel real, and for me the greatest fun is if you could gender-swap the role.

All the pins stuck in my head from the wig. I would set off a metal detector. And you know when your head gets really itchy? So when the wig gets put on at like 5:30, 6 A.M., and you can't take it off until 7 P.M. - I won't miss all the pins scratching against my scalp.

As an actor, your text is your bible, so you're not making a documentary, but you still have to follow the choices made by your writer.

As an actress, I think it's important to look back and realize that we aren't always quite as original as we think we are. There's this grand, textured history for us over the last 100 years of incredible writers, directors, and performers.

Cersei took so many of us out in the last episode and she's really turned dark; even Jaime Lannister can see that, so I don't think that Cersei Lannister is long for her Westeros world. I hope she's not.

Every role affects an actor a little bit. There's always a little chunk of a character that stays left over in your heart.

Feminist, whatever the definition, whatever you call yourself - I am, I'm not - none of us want little girls being forced into early marriage before they're 12.

I buy the odd book. There's a great book out at the moment called Ego Is the Enemy.

I do as much research as is physically possible when I'm playing a real person, be they alive or dead.

I do yoga weekly. I don't know who I'd be without yoga and running.

I don't believe in nudity for nudity's sake, nothing gratuitous.

I don't think you can be a diver without a shark on the list.

I don't think you have to live in the fantasy world of Westeros to have problems with your mother-in-law.

I feel that we live in an age where everyone's trying to reduce, and soundbite, and cut it down to140 characters, and that's not what life is.

I go to yoga classes as well as practicing myself. I'm always open to new experiences and when I'm in different cities shooting, I try some local classes sometimes.

I have Margaery Tyrell's - I didn't take it, I was given it - but yes, David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] gave me Margaery Tyrell's wedding crown. So that is sitting on my bookshelf.

I just think that if we stopped playing on the superficial level and concentrated on women in real crises throughout the world, it would be a better thing if we all stood together about the important stuff and stopped getting distracted by superficial things.

I just want to play real human beings. You know, I don't care if they're male or female.

I meditate but not regularly. I wish I did more meditation. It's always my New Year's resolution to do more.

I run; that's sort of my meditation. I've been to therapy in the past when I've had crisis moments in my life; I think it's very healthy. I think that's even a more acceptable attitude in America actually than it is probably back at home [in England].

I say I'm an atheist but I wouldn't mind being visited by a ghost.

I started writing In Darkness out of a frustration of the quality of roles that I was reading in scripts for women.

I started writing it six and a half years ago, so the landscape has changed a lot in that time.

I started writing it, because it was seven years ago. But yes, that is the genesis of why I started writing.

I think classes can be the most fun. And if you want to make it a social thing and you want to go with friends, then that's the way to do it.

I think that's the most dangerous kind of sexism: People don't realize it's there and we end up surreptitiously accepting it because it's just part of our culture. I've never experienced explicit, overt, confrontational sexism personally.

I think we have to monitor our minds the way we need to monitor our bodies.