On his fight scene with Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones: It was a delicious experience.

Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society’s understanding.

If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely.

Northern Ireland is the world’s best kept secret, both in the character of its people and its scenery.

We live in an age where revenge seems to be the most important thing for individuals and countries.

Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share.

Men fear most what they cannot see.

I'm a big believer in acts of kindness, no matter how small.

You are not what you were born, but what you have it in yourself to be.

Nothing brings you closer together than blind terror.

Less racist now but it has been. I don't think it's been completely stamped out. There's a class element to it. And who's supposed to do what. You're very unlikely to get a gay grip.

I don't know if there's a problem with original ideas... I think a healthy film industry should have a good supply of good, original writing.

To work effectively in a film, you have to repeat and work consistently. Basically, you shoot a big master then you do close-ups. You're supposed to be in the same moment, the same 30-second moment, for a day.

Looking in the mirror, staring back at me isn't so much a face as the expression of a predicament.

Bridget Jones is part of literary lore now and actually to be a part of it is enormously flattering.

I was delighted to become a popular-culture reference point. I'm still delighted about it actually, and I still find it to be weird.

As much as the next person, I want to be approved of, but I'm not greedy for that stuff.

No matter how much technique you draw on or how much training you have, acting is a mystery.

I love you even when you're sick and look disgusting.