“David Mamet we all know is a great screenplay writer and playwright and a great director. If you like him, you like him. If you hate him, you really hate him. He’s someone who’s into controversy, you know what I mean? That’s David Mamet.”

Love is doing something you don’t want to do for someone you don’t particularly like at that moment.

I had a huge imagination. My granddad says I was a bit of a Walter Mitty character.

I guess if I had fifty million dollars I could spend more time at home.

I like to be other people, not me. And when you’re on the red carpet, it’s like, ‘Here’s Tom Hardy.’ I don’t want to be me. That’s why I play other people.

I’m just getting settled as a responsible man – but if you split the elephant into little mouthfuls it will be fine.

I set myself that decision, otherwise I’m driving an opinion at you, and I think that would be treating you like you’re an idiot. I don’t want to force-feed you my opinion.

I’m into parlor dramas. I’m into theatre. I’m trained for the stage. I trained to do Chekhov and Shakespeare, I was trained for the stage.

If I am duly compared to Marlon Brando at all, well, I can only think of The Teahouse of the ‘Shanghai Noon,’ that they’re comparing me to that!

The only thing I can do is wipe my arse, brush my teeth, turn up and do the best work I can.

Whatever character you play, remember they are always doing something they are not just talking.

I have a very busy head. I have inside voices that I have learned to contain.

You don’t step on stage to eat; you go there to be eaten.

The Long Red Road is a story about alcoholism and dysfunction and tragic tale of a man who’s trying to drink himself to death on an Indian reservation in Dakota. It was written for me, so it’s something I would love to do.

I liked you better when you were drunk .

I’m going to fail to hit the mark I’ve put up before me because it’s not possible to hit it. I want to be the best at what I do so I’ve got to get over myself already because that’s never going to happen. I ain’t ever going to be God.

I’m an armchair psychologist, I suppose, and I like to kind of sit around and guess and pretend I know what’s going on.