“The thing about villains is that villains always have their own logic, and they don’t necessarily see themselves as villains.”

You have to make that judgement yourself, and that’s partly where the casting director is so good. It was that blend that we were looking for.

And we’re always talking to the directors about that. It’s a big challenge to find people that can do it.

But you need them to also have that sense of fun and that sense of movement and that ability to get the actors to really respond to the material in the way that you want them to. It’s a very big thing.

Being able to do action sounds like it should be straightforward, but it really isn’t.

In the book, D’Artagnan doesn’t actually become an official Musketeer until quite near the end.

There was a lot that I wanted it to do, and I wanted it to be fun. It’s fun, but it’s not simple fun.

I want to make sure people are constantly surprised and interested.

They’re classic themes, which is why I think it’s such a great story to look at again.

Richelieu is not a villain, in his own mind. He’s doing what he needs to do.

It’s not fundamentally different to any other genre, that action is a particular thing.

On a simple level, you need directors who are good at action and can choreograph an action scene

I think there’s an element in Milady where she sees her own innocence in D’Artagnan.

You can use the fun of the genre, but I also really wanted to come at it from the point of view of some really complex characterization.

And we make quite a big thing about that. I won’t give too much away.

One of the problems of this genre is that there are cliches everywhere, and you’ve got to be careful and watch out.

Milady is, in one sense, a villain because she does bad things.

People don’t need to necessarily see me in the jersey to understand who I am and what message I’m trying to get across with the things that I’m marketing.

Family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation.

Now do I get some time off? Do I get a bonus? Do I get to go on a cruise? But it’s not to keep trying to be the best. That’s not necessarily human nature.

I think people always assume that every team has great intangibles, and that’s not necessarily right.

The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.

I love good film, whether it’s an independent or studio film. The independent films, I think the good ones aren’t necessarily eccentric ones but they’re the more specific ones.

Coaches will do what they can but it doesn’t necessarily bother me.

Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous.