Tom Cullen

I think the older you get, the more lax you get, and the less romantic you are.

From an egotistical point of view, I'm always interested in roles that push me as a person. I'm interested in humans as animals and as products of society.

I'm interested in pursuing roles that allow me to push against my own walls, my own constraints as a human being, and to find out where I'm capable of going. In real life, I'm not very good at feeling emotions, so I like to do it through my work.

People in the U.K. absolutely love my character in 'Downton,' and in equal measure, people absolutely hate him, and that's all I wanted.

I came to acting quite late. I tried not to be an actor.

For me, I can't live without acting or drama and writing - I also run a theater company.

I look to James Franco with complete admiration. He makes interesting choices. Whether right or wrong, that is up to someone else to decide, but I think what he does is brilliant.

To be honest, I'm not even thinking about America. If I was to start thinking about the enormity of 'Downton' and the size of the project, then I wouldn't be able to be very truthful to the work. I would start to watch myself too much. I'm not even thinking about it. Who knows what will happen.

I think every role that I go up for is daunting.

I'm very accident-prone. The problem is I sort of just do things. I'm impulsive, and sometimes I don't think.

When I was 17, I had my first proper girlfriend, and on Valentine's Day, I painted a canvas of her, bought her a massage, put flowers on the stairs, and ran a bath.