At home you always have to be a politician when you're abroad you almost feel yourself a statesman.

Don't kid yourself. President Obama's decision to withdraw 33 000 troops from Afghanistan before he stands for reelection is not driven by the United States' 'position of strength' in the war zone as much as it is by grim economic and political realities at home.

You can be true to the character all you want but you've got to go home with yourself.

The only way you can have it all is by delegating all the running of the home to other people - which I don't ever want to do... So you do it yourself and it takes time and energy and effort. And if you give it the time it's profoundly enjoyable.

Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.

If you want to be an entrepreneur it's not a job it's a lifestyle. It defines you. Forget about vacations about going home at 6 pm - last thing at night you'll send emails first thing in the morning you'll read emails and you'll wake up in the middle of the night. But it's hugely rewarding as you're fulfilling something for yourself.

When everyone goes home you're stuck with yourself.

I feel like I've never had a home you know? I feel related to the country to this country and yet I don't know exactly where I fit in... There's always this kind of nostalgia for a place a place where you can reckon with yourself.

Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it - memory friends you can trust love of learning and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.

Accuracy is paramount in every detail of a work of history. Here's my rule: Ask yourself 'Did this thing happen?' If the answer is yes then it's historical. Then ask 'Did this thing happen precisely this way?' If the answer is yes then it's history if the answer is no not precisely this way then it's historical drama.