Richard C. Armitage

To survive in a profession like this, you have to have absolute discipline and commitment, and I did not quite have it for musical theater.

I never like to go out of character when filming starts. I fear that if I do, I might not be able to pick it up again.

I think that when Tolkien created Gollum and the ring, he even expressed in his biography that he never really knew what he created until he went back and looked at it.

Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.

My mum will not speak above a low whisper in public because she doesn't want to draw attention to herself.

I don't think actors need to go on pedestals. I don't buy it.

I'm a late developer in everything. I have a fast mind and fast metabolism, and I'm an intense worker, but in terms of life development, I'm way behind.

People get to know me slowly and over the course of time. I'll probably still be a newcomer when I'm 60.

The narrative that Peter Jackson has put into 'The Battle of the Five Armies,' it stands alone as a film. Rather than just finishing off the story, it's like a whole new adventure all of its own. I'm very excited about it.

I'm not interested in building wealth, which is kind of naive and probably frowned on, living in America. It's something that people don't necessarily understand, but if I die poor, I die poor.

I didn't become an actor because I thought I'd make lots of money.

I come from very conservative parents, and we weren't particularly wealthy, but we were comfortable.

I'd like to act in a film without special effects.

Light, trivial comedy does not appeal - it is not something I go to see.

I have been to the theater more since I have lived in New York than I ever really did in London working on a television show.

It is possible to work out of New York on film and television and still not lose your connection to theater.

I know what Twitter is; I don't use it. I don't use Facebook, so luckily, it does zero to my ego.

You fight for certain roles, and you realise they're being filled by television and film actors, because theatre is constantly fighting for survival and they need names and faces and ticket sales.

It fills me with dismay sometimes when you look at the scripts that do come to you that are primarily focused on violence. There are so many other things to play around with.

You know, to an extent, Method acting feels occasionally lazy.

I feel like my imagination was crafted by Tolkien. He seemed to tap into that childhood intrigue of secret doors and hidden worlds.

I think my fighting skills have certainly been improved by working with Peter Jackson.

Do people really think that about my nose? I spent my whole life hating it, so it's amusing that people like it!

I'm looking forward to getting fat and old.

Small, slow growth is the best I expect from an investment. I'm a real saver: frugal - like my parents.

I have an accountant, obviously, because I'm self employed, and I use an independent financial adviser. I trust my accountant because we have worked together for a long time now.

My instruction to my parents is that I would rather they enjoy their retirement than leave me anything when they go. I am much happier watching them enjoying life.

There's a very strong force in Tolkien's characters.

I have a visual mind, so when I read a book, I get an instant picture in my head and it's very clear.

Tolkien was, I believe, writing about his experience in the First and Second World Wars, where he would have spent a lot of time without any female contact. He was part of the fellowship of men who went to war, and I think, really, that's what he's writing about.

You can spend a bit of yourself when you give yourself to a character. At the end of a job, you have to remind yourself who and what you are.

I want to be strong enough to cope with the roles, but I don't want to be cast as the guy that takes his shirt off.

I'm not much of a show-off.

I am just not a water baby. I can swim, but I just don't.

I suppose I'm a bit mean. My face on camera doesn't lend itself to happy nice guys. I think it's just that my bone structure looks menacing.

Someone told me a woman bought a dog so she could take it to the same park where I go running, but I'm hoping that's rubbish.

I don't really like making too much of a statement with what I'm wearing.

I try to keep at a non-obsessive level of fitness. It's not about looking great, it's about just feeling good. So I do a lot of yoga. Bikram just blows my mind. It's mental as well as physical; if I don't train, I get very depressed.

A full beard looks cool.

I'm probably not very good at rom-com, being funny on demand; I'll leave that to the comedians.

Once you don't smile on film, they say, 'Let's have that bloke who doesn't smile.'

I'd like a bit of a crack at some kind of anarchic comedy, but whether or not I'm skillful enough at it all, we'll see.

I read everything that Tolkien wrote, and also read biographies of him. I was fascinated by his experiences in World War I, which includes the loss of life of some of his very, very close friends. I think he writes about that a lot in 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings.'

You can't reject anything in your life as an artist. Everything has its use.

I kind of got lost down a road of TV and film, so it's great to come back to theatre.

I'd like to live off-grid.

Te Papa Museum is brilliant.

As an actor, you're like, 'Yeah, I want that phone call from Peter Jackson saying, 'You're my first choice for Thorin Oakenshield.'

I love being grungy and dirty.

A charity donkey is where you sponsor a donkey in a sanctuary and give them three pounds a month to have some donkey nuts or something.