Top quotes by Martin Freeman

I've got a stag weekend coming up and I've said I'm not doing anything more than a few drinks. I won't have it. I'll go home and watch Antiques Roadshow. Votes: 26

I think what 'The Hobbit' and Middle-earth deal in are quite universal and timeless themes of honour and love and friendship... so they're things that do resonate with people. Votes: 21

I value being able to go into a record shop and people leaving me alone. Votes: 19

The best of American television is thought-provoking, original, brilliant, exciting - from 'The Sopranos' on, whether it's 'The Wire' or 'Breaking Bad' or 'House of Cards,' they're fantastic pieces of art. Votes: 19

I read 'Animal Farm' when I was 11, and it remained my favorite book, really. Votes: 18

Like any friendship or marriage, familiarity breeds more contempt, and love, and everything. Votes: 15

I always kind of think if The Beatles were still around now, people would've lost interest quite a long time ago. Seven years of recording - it's there forever. I think not outstaying your welcome is a vital ingredient. Votes: 11

When I was at youth theatre and drama school, I never thought people would mistake me for a stand-up. Votes: 10

Humour is - how do I say this without sounding pompous - it's a huge part of my life. Votes: 10

I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I keep forgetting to think of 'Charles II' as a costume drama. Votes: 9

I have no opinion on 48 frames a second at all. I'd be completely unsuitable to talk about that. Votes: 9

Please God, I'll never be in a war zone, but everything I sort of know about people who come back is that it's a hard transition to make. I mean, even if you've not been in a war, even if you've just been in the Forces, you come back and probably have more fights in civilian life. Votes: 8

There was very little drama and performance at my school, so I've never forgotten the people who did encourage me and I've thought whether it would be a good idea to even get in touch with them and just say thanks, because they really opened a door for me mentally and emotionally - that's really important. Votes: 8

Although there's an inherent light-heartedness to 'Sherlock,' I slightly err towards not doing the comedy. Votes: 8

You have to, in a way, just get your head down and do the work and not expect every day to bring riches and not expect every minute to bring wild excitement, 'cause it just doesn't. It doesn't on films, anyway. Votes: 7

I look like the man in the moon. Votes: 7

All my life, I've felt people are looking at me. So, when I became known, it was like, 'I'm not imagining this any more. People genuinely are staring at me. Oh, Christ, now they're coming over!' Votes: 6

Name anything - high-definition TV, computer obsolescence - and I'm pretty much annoyed by it. Votes: 6

I think people just like seeing friendship. I think people like seeing people who just drive each other up the wall, but at same time, can't live without each other. Votes: 6

The design of 'Love Actually,' the typeface, the basic line of that poster and that DVD cover has been ripped off so many times. Votes: 4

You don't want your children to look at you like you are anything special other than their dad. Votes: 4

I don't want to be alone; the thing I love about acting is the other people you're doing it with. Votes: 4

I've never been to a festival. I'm a creature of habit, mashed-potato comfort, I like rugs. Our sofa's squishy. Maybe too squishy - it's hard to get up sometimes. Votes: 4

If everyone's just saying what they feel and doing whatever they want, there's no drama in the world. And there's also no truth to it, 'cause that's just not the truth. Votes: 3

In London we give ourselves a pat on the back, rightly, for not killing one another, for our prejudice being subtle rather than lethal. Votes: 3

Being an actor is just like being any other sort of self-employed person - we're all just happy to have a job in the first place, but we also thrive off the uncertainty of it. Votes: 3

I can live without endless television programmes and films just centered around computers. I can sort of live without that. Votes: 3

I've had several really tangible dreams about UFOs, and they've been amazing! Votes: 2

The reason I've never gone for pilot season even as a younger actor, and wouldn't entertain that sort of thing now, is the idea of signing a piece of paper that binds me for six or seven years. Votes: 1

We can all look on the Internet and go, 'He hates me! Oh, but she loves me. Oh, but he hates me,' you know. And that way, madness lies. Votes: 1

I can't actually believe how good 'The Sopranos' is. I genuinely am dumbfounded by it. It's like when you realize how good The Beatles are, and you think, 'How did they do that?' Votes: 0

I've always loved Christmas and that's not really gone away from me from being a child to now. It's always a magical time and I'm unashamed in my love for Christmas. Votes: 0

Without sounding overly pompous about it, I don't really trust certainty in anything, actually. Especially as I get older. Except love. I'm certain of love, I guess. Votes: 0

I don't think anyone looks into their family tree and expects it to come up smelling of roses. Votes: 0

Most people have a passive relationship with music and clothes, with culture. But music was my first contact with anything creative. Music is it, as far as I'm concerned. Votes: 0

My relationship with my belief has never been easy. Votes: 0

Your slippers last a lot longer in your bedroom. On a film set, they do get very scuffed up. Votes: 0

My idea of a good night out is staying in. Votes: 0

Organised religion, organised anything, requires commitment and requires an engagement with something. A lot of the time, we don't want to commit. Votes: 0

I don't want to be poor, of course. But I try not to make that the guiding force behind whether I choose to do something or not. Votes: 0

You could say I'm a mod, but with a small 'm'; I don't wear a parka, but I do question what I wear and what I listen to, which is what it's all about. Votes: 0

I buy DVDs. I don't really buy CDs unless they're for other people. Votes: 0

I've got an overly developed sense of what selling out is, and I of course worry about it too much. Votes: 0

I've always slightly envied other actors I know who have different reputations. I think, 'God, you don't get people coming up to you, going, 'Hey!' - because they're scared of you.' Votes: 0

It's a funny thing, 'The Office,' because millions and millions and millions and millions of people didn't watch it. But culturally, it is more of a phenomenon than almost anything else I can remember as far as British television is concerned. Votes: 0

I'm a big believer that life changes as much as you want it to. Votes: 0

As soon as a job finishes, I am done with it. When I'm really, really enjoying the job, I love the job, I want it to end because it's supposed to. Votes: 0

I hate the fact that so much of our life is computerised rather than mechanised. Votes: 0

I can spot someone with similar fashion sense to me a mile off. Votes: 0

I only really watch my own films, I don't watch any other films and I don't particularly like any other actors. Votes: 0

Half of us are partly German! Half our language and culture, generally, in Anglo-Saxon terms, is German. Votes: 0

Television is where the great movies that used to exist have gone. Votes: 0

What makes Shakespeare eternal is his grasp of psychology. He knew how to nail stuff about us as human beings. Votes: 0

My job as an actor is for you, so why should my private life be for you, too? That's not fair. Votes: 0

As an actor, you know there are things you get asked to do that you do quite well, with less effort. Votes: 0

My main priority in any job is when is the soonest I can get back to the three people I love most in the world. Votes: 0

I love the smaller scenes. I love the smaller, slightly more theatrical scenes. Votes: 0

I like anything with my face on it, just from an aesthetic point of view. Votes: 0

Coming back from doing 'The Hobbit,' you think 'Sherlock' is realistic, but of course, it's not that realistic. Votes: 0

My ambition is to do what I like and to do good things that I might not have done before. Votes: 0

If I could get bands to come and play in my house, I'd like that. Votes: 0

Fans want to see a story with characters, and they want to see a story. Votes: 0

It's hard talking about acting, in a way, because it's like explaining a joke: I do think it loses something in the telling. Votes: 0

I have less than no interest in trying to replicate another brilliant actor's work, thank you very much. Votes: 0

I'm not particularly affable in real life, I have to tell you. I've got that side to me, of course, but that's not all I am. Votes: 0

I hadn't grown up with 'The Hobbit;' I hadn't grown up with 'Lord of The Rings,' anything like that. Votes: 0

Benedict (Cumberbatch, who is playing Sherlock) looks amazing. He's still got a Sherlockian silhouette, with a large overcoat, but in a classic cut. Watson dresses with an urban elegance, a touch of old school dashing, giving a feeling of both the military and medical profession. I suppose it's something they have in common as well. They're a bit metrosexual. Votes: 0

Being a mod is more of a sensibility than a style. Votes: 0

I love that pre-mod jazz look of the late Fifties, the Steve McQueen style that influenced the British modernists. Votes: 0

If you are a plumber, you can work on a shed, or you can work on a mansion. It's just scale. Votes: 0

I'm not posh or common, I'm in between. Votes: 0

Acting is the only thing I'm even vaguely good at and acting is something that I think I do know about. Votes: 0

You absorb 2,000 years of history just by being near the Thames. Votes: 0

Sherlock' is beautifully done, if I may say so myself. Even if I wasn't in it, I would like the show. Votes: 0

In my life, the strongest evidence of any fandom is 'Sherlock' - 'Hobbit' fans are positively restrained. Votes: 0

Rehearsals are one of my favourite things in the world. Votes: 0

I like the quiet life sometimes. I also love a bustling press conference sometimes as well. I love a 600 metre red carpet. Votes: 0

Sherlock' is one of the biggest things I will do, ever - we could never have predicted that level of insanity around the series. Votes: 0

I'm afraid I don't have a very pragmatic or unromantic view of props. I don't imbue them with any great sense of mystery or anything. Votes: 0

True heroics, obviously, is not the absence of fear, but having that fear and doing something anyway. Votes: 0

On the one hand, we're constantly told about recycling and cutting back, and on the other hand we have to buy the next gadget that comes along three weeks after the last one you bought. It's absolutely insane. We've been suckered into buying and buying and upgrading and upgrading. We're being given two very different mantras at the moment, I think. Votes: 0

Any pigeonhole is something to be rebelled against. Votes: 0

Disappointment is an endless wellspring of comedy inspiration... Votes: 0

We all know the films that have affected us from the age of nine onwards, that mean so much to us. Votes: 0

I am a fan of the Coen brothers. I'm not a fanatic. I'm a big admirer. They create unique worlds, and there is a real atmosphere to their films. Not everyone can get that. That's a massive part of their appeal: you can recognise them. Like all the great directors or artists, you know it when you see it. Votes: 0

I don't like affectation. Votes: 0

Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay and Al Pacino made me want to act. I've always been interested in men with a vulnerable side. Votes: 0

I like things that are simple, such as an alarm clock. Votes: 0

I don't have sentimental attachments to characters at all. Votes: 0

I did a play once where a reviewer said, 'Martin Freeman's too nice to play a bad guy.' And I thought: 'Well, bad guys aren't always bad guys, you know?' When I see someone play the obvious villain, I know it's false. Votes: 0

I love watching Billy Bob, just as a punter anyway. I like his work. But working with him is really easy and really straight-forward. He's immediately good. He doesn't have to work up to it. He doesn't make your life difficult. He listens. He's a very good listener, in terms of his acting. Votes: 0

Americans assume all British people have at least one servant. Votes: 0

I would wear a full-length cape if I could get away with it - I do love a good swirl in a fog. Votes: 0

To my mind there are not enough things that show the Nazis as human, as smart people, charismatic people, who are not inhuman naturally. But who are able to be fantastically inhuman when they choose to be. Votes: 0

I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man, but nothing winds me up more than people saying, 'Chill out' to me when I'm irritated! Votes: 0

I know very few people who have literally improvised a film from start to finish. Votes: 0

I suppose the real cult things now are independent films made for a million pounds. Votes: 0

I'm quite a disciplinarian: I can be a shouter. But I can be a very demonstrative kisser and hugger. Votes: 0

I think when see you a character on the screen who is actually being touched by the world, and the stuff is actually landing on him, it makes you empathize. Votes: 0

As soon as you get two actors in a room and they're locking eyes, they're doing a scene. Votes: 0

Why does everyone have to pretend to be stupid and not know long words? Votes: 0

I don't get cast as the guy who steps off a yacht in a white linen suit with a martini. Votes: 0

The Marx Brothers isn't subtle, and that's hilarious. Votes: 0

If it were purely up to me, my kids would probably be vegetarian Catholic Marxists. Votes: 0

People misunderstand me. Votes: 0

There are lots of things that keep me awake at night, but work isn't one of them. I mean, no-one's going to die if someone doesn't like what I do. So I don't feel a great pressure. Votes: 0

I grew up in the suburbs, so I remember arriving at Waterloo and seeing Big Ben and the coloured lights on top of the Southbank Centre and thinking, 'Wow!' Votes: 0

When people bully us, we are complicit in it in some way. We do allow it to happen to some extent. Votes: 0

I've always got my eye on my deathbed. Votes: 0

There's a difference between the parts that I play and who I am and who people think I am. There's quite a big discrepancy sometimes between those things. Votes: 0

The Hobbit' would have been very difficult to pass on, do you know what I mean? It's not the kind of ship that comes into dock very often. Votes: 0

There is nothing far-fetched about disappointment as a subject for comedy. It's something we are all too familiar with. Votes: 0

I didn't audition for 'Fargo.' It was a straight offer. Votes: 0

We all know that people who've never been on a film set think it's way more glamorous than the people who work on them. Votes: 0

I like being called 'Mr. Freeman' occasionally. Votes: 0

With superheroes and comics and fantasy and sci-fi being absolutely the popular currency in cinema, it's like people have said in endless magazines, it's the revenge of the geeks and all that. There's some truth in that. Votes: 0

I think I'm less gloomy than I used to be - I've got a very supportive other half. Votes: 0

I was on record before I did 'The Hobbit,' saying I don't care at all about 3D. And I suppose I should now say I care a lot about 3D. I've always loved 3D, I think everything should be 3D, and I think it's just a shame 'The Godfather' wasn't in 3D. Votes: 0

I'm just a sucker for a good script. Votes: 0

There are always challenges to green screen. Votes: 0

I like out, I like the outside world. Votes: 0

I think the hardest part about anything you do for 18 months is just keeping yourself together for 18 months. Votes: 0

It's more fun to keep stuff secret. Votes: 0

I have played nasty people, but not everyone has seen that stuff. Before 'The Office,' I mainly got cast as little toe-rags. Votes: 0

Not all art is great; most of it's rubbish. Votes: 0

If you're alive for more than five minutes, you're going to be disappointed. Votes: 0

Like, honest to God, I don't expect people to be into what I'm into. Votes: 0

I hope I inspire children to make films. Votes: 0

Comedy can't be about continuous success. Votes: 0

Every actor is riddled with insecurity, of course. But weirdly, I don't really find that I'd be daunted with taking on roles or anything. Votes: 0

However happy the director is, I have to be okay with it. I'm pretty strict with myself, about throwing things out or trying to be true to whatever the situation dictates. Votes: 0

I don't think it was a surprise that I ended up as an actor, and it was anything but a disappointment. Votes: 0

I guess like any friendship, marriage, or whatever it is familiarity breeds more contempt, and more love. They're just more settled with each other now. Votes: 0

I have a very extreme state of mind. Things are very black or very white. Votes: 0

I like bootcut jeans in a plain style with a nice line. Votes: 0

I like the idea of not everything happening between two human beings to be everyone's property. Votes: 0

I love home. I'd rather be at home than anywhere else. Votes: 0

I think if you were known for playing something other than being a nice guy then people might be a little less likely to take liberties with you. If you are Ray Winstone, and people have seen you kick a few people to death, then they are a little less likely to approach you or whatever. Votes: 0

I was probably cool around the end of 2002. Votes: 0

I'm one of the few people I know who believes in God. Votes: 0

It's a bit like a fledgeling duck, finding your flippers. Votes: 0

I've been doing interviews for years, and in all that time, I've virtually never read one and gone, 'Yep, factually and tonally that's exactly what happened.' Pretty much never. Votes: 0

Like with anything, good writing suggest itself pretty strongly. Votes: 0

Most actors are either a shower of bloody scruffs or think they should dress like Hamlet off stage. Votes: 0

Sherlock and Watson are a love story Votes: 0

Thank you, people of Emmyland. To be nominated in such company is an honour, especially for two shows that I'm immensely proud of. I'm delighted. Votes: 0

The great thing about getting older is that you learn not to care about being cool. I'm happy with who I am, I know what I like and I can't see myself changing"¦ not for a little while, at least. Votes: 0

The one thing I've found is that someone always knows more than you do, including your babies. There are loads of things people presume I know about that I don't. Votes: 0

When I wear jeans I want to look like a man, not a child. Votes: 0

Your job, as an actor, is never to just do what you're told. That's boring, and life is too short. It's your job to bring something, and it will either be to other people's taste or your own taste, and you have to try things out. Actors say, "Well, as long as the director's happy," but I don't believe that and I don't agree with that. I want the director to be happy, but if I'm not happy, I won't sleep at night. Votes: 0