'Expect nothing and hope for the best' is my mantra. A drama teacher called Joseph Blatchley told me that, and it's the best advice I've had. If you keep an open mind and don't expect too much, then you won't be disappointed.
Michelle Dockery
The journey matters as much as the destination. By engaging in the moment on set, I've stopped rushing and now find pleasure in the collaborative process - the characters, the costumes - rather than worrying about the finished product.
I don't mind wearing a corset, it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.
I do believe in one true love.
Cooking can cure almost anything.
I'm quite into the French way - simple elegance with just a suggestion of sexiness, nothing vulgar.
I regret not learning to drive when I was younger.
My family keeps me sane. I try to talk to my mum every other day. After I get off the phone, I have a renewed sense of clarity, so I guess a problem shared is a problem lost. It's important to me to keep them close.
I'm not accident prone, really, but I was cutting something and sort of lost control, and it went through my big toe. There was a lot of blood and I nearly fainted, but its totally fine now.
I love singing live, actually. And I'm dying to sing in a role, whether it's in a musical or a biographical film about a singer. It's always been one of my aspirations.
Playing Isabella in 'Measure for Measure' pushed me to my limits. Janet Suzman was directing, and she was very hard on me. I went through phases of not liking her at the time, but I loved her for it in the end.
I don't get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.
When I was a child, I went to stage school three times a week in the evenings - singing, ballet, tap, modern and acting, and I loved it.
I'd like to do something that involves music.
It's great to have a home and everything else that comes with it.
There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.
Silk scarves are my thing. I tie them to my handbag or thread them through belt loops or wear them in my hair. Never round my neck, though.
I really enjoy singing, it's entirely different to acting because I'm just being myself.
You can find a connection with any Shakespeare role you play.
A good friend of mine works at Oxfam and has been closely involved in the charity's aid efforts in Syria.
'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.
It's a bit of a history lesson, being an actor. I was in 'Burnt By The Sun' at the National, which was set in Stalinist Russia, so I discovered all about that. You learn so much as you go along.
I think the first time I realised 'Downton Abbey' was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about 'Downton Abbey,' and then they recognised me.
My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it was amazing. I got big bonus points for it. I'll remind them when they're teenagers.
At the age of eight, I auditioned for 'The Sound of Music' and made it through to the third round, where we all stood in a row like the Von Trapp family and had to sing.
Shakespeare and his work will always be relevant. He wrote those pieces hundreds of years ago and we haven't really changed as humans, have we? We have to deal with love, honour and adultery now - people were the same then, too - that's what's so wonderful and powerful.
I want a house with a garden, but slap bang in the centre of London. Next door to a sushi bar.
I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Instagram and follow Lena Dunham and Usher.
My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.
I come from a very working-class background, so my family would have been downstairs in the past, as opposed to upstairs. People are often quite surprised to hear that, that I'm not actually posh.
I think some period drama can be quite alienating, but 'Downton' isn't. This is going to sound quite, um, pretentious, but someone said that it's like a soap written by a poet.
I think the success of 'Downton' is partly because there are effectively 18 leading characters, all given equal importance, so it's enormously involving on many levels. But also, it's a new story. It's not like Dickens or Austen, where everyone knows the denouement.
If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.
'Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.
Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.
I get so excited about reading a new script.
I can be so blown away by story lines.
In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.
I've had moments of thinking maybe I should go on Twitter. It's something that I've been shy about, and I've thought that maybe I should do it.
Laugh at yourself - a lot. My mum taught me not to take myself too seriously.
For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.
My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.
I love discovering tiny streets.
I love cycling, but if I could find a way of building something above the streets for cyclists, that would be amazing. We need even more space.
In my twenties, I was a bit of a worrier; it bothered me what people thought of me, what job I was doing.
I worked out; I moved 16 times from the age of 19, just hopping about from different flats, because I couldn't always afford to stay.
I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and it's something that carries with me to this day.
I think so often you can come out of drama school and get thrown in the deep end.
I wasn't an academic. I hated maths and science at school. I couldn't concentrate.
I'm quite surprised at how out of control I can be on stage because, actually, I find I like to be in control in life. It's quite freeing, really.
