To be asked to perform a new 'Talking Head' was beyond any expectation. The matchless brilliance of Alan Bennett's words coupled with the extraordinary wisdom of Nick Hytner's direction made this a thrilling and quite simply unforgettable experience, and I'm enormously grateful.

Sarah Lancashire

Wisdom Experience Words

Working on 'The Paradise' is like putting on a comfy overcoat.

Sarah Lancashire

Work Working Tin

I would never condone anything which I thought was salacious, titillating, or gratuitous.

Sarah Lancashire

Would Which Us

There's some truth that roles for older women are harder to come by, but it's wrong for actors to monopolise the ageist thing.

Sarah Lancashire

Women Truth Men

I truly believe that love is love and gender is immaterial.

Sarah Lancashire

Love Truly T

It's down to the actors to show the writers the potential of the character.

Sarah Lancashire

Writers Writer Write

I have never known what it feels like to wake up in the morning full of the joys of spring, and wander through the day feeling capable of coping.

Sarah Lancashire

Morning Wander Wake Up

I'd like to think little miracles do happen in 'Angel Cake.'

Sarah Lancashire

Think Thin T

Marriage is not for everyone, but spiritually it is very necessary for me because I have a desire, a need to feel owned.

Sarah Lancashire

Marriage Age Very

Relationships are very complex. It's very unusual to see something which is so 'complex portrayed on screen.

Sarah Lancashire

Relationship Which Very

You start out with scripts pre-written, with no specific actor in mind, so you've got to build a character on top of that foundation. It's not just lifting words off the page, it's constructing a history around them as well.

Sarah Lancashire

History Art Age

I am a tea connoisseur and my idea of absolute heaven is a tea shop.

Sarah Lancashire

Tea T Shop

Celebrity and actor are two completely different professions, and I don't believe that they mix if you want to maintain any sort of credibility.

Sarah Lancashire

You Want Two

Now that I'm in my late 40s, I'm trying to make up for a little bit of lost musicals time.

Sarah Lancashire

Time Music Yin

My father's family, I think, were mostly from Lancashire, but I don't know how far back we go. I think it's quite a few generations.

Sarah Lancashire

Family Were Think

When you pretend for a living and you have to pretend in your private life as well, it's very sad. Because it's intangible, depression is an issue that people don't like to talk about. It's like a huge, guilty secret.

Sarah Lancashire

Sad Life Your

If someone was walking round in a T-shirt with Sarah Lancashire on it, I'd find that very disturbing.

Sarah Lancashire

Wit Walking Walk

I think going to university, getting married, having children, and then having the choice to stay at home to raise those children is a very valid one for women and they shouldn't be castigated for it. It's a great job. Not many men would do it.

Sarah Lancashire

Women Men Home

The Barbara Hepworth museum in St. Ives is fascinating. Her achievements were astonishing.

Sarah Lancashire

Men Worth Were

I got married only because I was pregnant. Simple as that. I am a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock. I didn't want a child of mine to be different or have fingers pointed at.

Sarah Lancashire

Wed Want Very

Actors are bloody marvelous at hiding.

Sarah Lancashire

Us T Marvelous

I am possibly the biggest 'Downton' fan you can ever meet.

Sarah Lancashire

Anyone who has to be accountable in a time when resources are shrinking, where transparency is necessary, where the pressures are greater, is going to find that it takes a toll.

Sarah Lancashire

'Kiri' reflects the society we're living in now, where everything has to be transparent and people are under so much pressure. The scrutiny is extraordinary and you really get a sense of panic emerging.

Sarah Lancashire

Young people are often portrayed in a very negative and stereotypical manner.

Sarah Lancashire

Soaps are a double-edged sword. There can be prejudice from some writers and producers who feel you will lower the currency of their work if you've been in one. You have to rise above such ludicrous prejudice.

Sarah Lancashire

I think this country is terribly, horribly obsessed with age, and it really is just this country. If you're still living and breathing at 50, then count your blessings!

Sarah Lancashire

I'm not always right for the role. And to be honest I think part of your job as an actor is knowing when you're not right for the role.

Sarah Lancashire

I own a copy of the original 'Talking Heads' by Alan Bennett, which I purchased many years ago shortly after they were first broadcast. It's been lovingly well-thumbed over the years. They are magnificent. A masterpiece.

Sarah Lancashire

To be asked to perform a new 'Talking Head' was beyond any expectation. The matchless brilliance of Alan Bennett's words coupled with the extraordinary wisdom of Nick Hytner's direction made this a thrilling and quite simply unforgettable experience, and I'm enormously grateful.

Sarah Lancashire

An 'Ordinary Woman' is the beautiful and achingly poignant portrait of Gwen, a complex and troubled woman in her middle years.

Sarah Lancashire

I'm driven by fear.

Sarah Lancashire

The work I like to do is the work I'm most afraid of.

Sarah Lancashire

I do have a slightly rebellious streak in me, I'm afraid.

Sarah Lancashire

I think women have not been terribly kind to other women for a very long time.

Sarah Lancashire

I can tell very early on, reading a script, within six or seven pages, whether I'm looking at real people, and whether I can see and hear real people.

Sarah Lancashire

I think Jack Thorne is an exceptional writer.

Sarah Lancashire

I'm not terribly good at being around work I don't care about!

Sarah Lancashire

It was easier to act, in a way, than to be myself. Somehow I just felt I was in the right place.

Sarah Lancashire

Most of the career choices I've made have been because of my family.

Sarah Lancashire

Being an actor can be a cruel experience because there is no cooling-down period. You can be involved in something that's incredibly intense, but then it's a wrap and you've finished and you go home. I find it difficult to complete a job and then return to reality and find my healthy place.

Sarah Lancashire

I've learnt that it's possible to be as anonymous as you want. It's a choice, and I've become very, very good at being anonymous.

Sarah Lancashire

My father was a TV scriptwriter. He would perform his dialogue out loud, while my mum transcribed it at the typewriter. So I grew up thinking that plucking characters out of the air was an extremely normal way to behave.

Sarah Lancashire

It's too easy to underestimate your audience. But it's not rocket science: bad plays don't get people on seats; good plays do.

Sarah Lancashire

During a performance of 'Blood Brothers' in 1990, I forgot to sing. I was so moved by what my co-star Kiki Dee was doing, that I completely missed my cue.

Sarah Lancashire

'MotherFatherSon' was just an extraordinary read and I wanted to be a part of it.

Sarah Lancashire

I think all writers have a style, a particular voice and rhythm that you have to find.

Sarah Lancashire

When you receive a script and it leaps out at you and it's breathing with its own heartbeat - I suppose when you read something like that it's not a choice of whether you do it or don't. It feels like it chooses you, so you just do it.

Sarah Lancashire

I suppose trying not to fancy Richard Gere - that's been quite hard!

Sarah Lancashire

Age affects us all in the workplace. We all get a little less appealing as we get older, unfortunately.

Sarah Lancashire

Two of the best roles I've ever had have happened in my late 40s.

Sarah Lancashire