“When are you ever settled enough to have kids?”

I’ve always wanted to play a spy, because it is the ultimate acting exercise. You are never what you seem.

I tell my wife all my secrets.

There’s a heroic amount of effort that goes into making him [Doctor Strange] a superhero by the end of the film.

I was brought up in a world of privilege.

I’m interested in art for all. I don’t want it to be only the sons and daughters of Tory MPs who get to see my plays.

I had a real yearning to make use of the opportunities I had at school. When I heard about the gap year of teaching English at a Tibetan monastery, I knew I had to do something about it really quickly, otherwise it was going to get allocated.

Live a life less ordinary.

Maybe it’s because I was an only child, but I’ve always wanted kids.

That’s something I have to work on: to separate what really matters, to conserve energy by not worrying about what other people think.

I’ve said for quite a long time I’d like him to have a different haircut. I quite like my hair being short. You know, we’ve been away two years, let’s f*** around with his outfit, let’s f*** around with his haircut, let’s do something different.

I genuinely don’t know Julian Assange well. To authenticate an opinion, I really would have to meet him.

I think anyone who works in medicine has superpowers.

Kevin Feige said to me: “I don’t think we’ve ever put an actor through quite as much as this, physically and mentally.” I’ll wear that as a badge of honour. It was endless.

I tend to have a cup of tea, try to stop worrying about what I did wrong, cool down and will the audience back in as soon as possible.

Sherlock [Holmes] is on the side of the angels, but don’t think he’s one of them. He uses similar means, but it seems to be for a better purpose, one would hope.

The more charming person is the person who admits the other person is more charming.

I thank heaven we have had baseball in this world,the kids, our national pastime.

One of the things I’ve always said is that if you’re given the ability to coach kids, then you’re really given the ability to be a father or parent of some sort.

I was a bit of a handful when I was a kid because I was quite hyperactive. Even in the house my mum used to put me in my pram because I was so full-on.

They started something here, and the kids are keeping the ball rolling.

I would never be a sellout, but you can never be a sellout to kids. Kids is kids!

I try to keep my kids with me everywhere I go.

The first thing you have to do if you want to raise nice kids, is you have to talk to them like they are people instead of talking to them like they’re property.

Don’t compare your kids. Every seed has its own variety and fragrance.