30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Peter Dinklage
I feel really lucky. Although, I hate that word - ‘lucky.’ It cheapens a lot of hard work. Living in Brooklyn in an apartment without any heat and paying for dinner at the bodega with dimes - I don’t think I felt myself lucky back then. Saying I was lucky negates the hard work I put in and spits on that guy who’s freezing his ass off back in Brooklyn. So I won’t say I’m lucky. I’m fortunate enough to find or attract very talented people. For some reason I found them, and they found me.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Tom Hiddleston
Even outside of Marvel, whenever I am working on a film, I try to not think about what people will think about it once it’s made. It will make you self-conscious and self-aware. You just have to be thinking, “Who is this guy? What does he want? It’s my responsibility to play this guy and his version of the truth is my responsibility. What other people see in that representation is up to them.” I didn’t know that people were going to like what I did in Thor as Loki. It’s nice that they liked it. But it is that thing of “to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Kit Harington
All the way up until sixth form I wanted to be a journalist, that’s what I always wanted to do. I liked acting but I didn’t see it as something I would do. I got as far as my A-levels and thought ‘You know what? I do like this and if I’m going to do it then I’m going to give it my best shot.’

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Richard Madden
I don’t really look so much like I do on [Game of Thrones], so I don’t get recognized that much. It’s nice. I can keep a bit of anonymity. But the nicest thing is that if anyone does recognize me and stop me, it’s not just because I’m in a TV show—it’s because they really like it. It’s the biggest compliment that they want to come up and shake my hand and thank me for being part of this show that they love. It’s very complimentary and very flattering for me and everyone in the show.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Robert Downey Jr.
I’m not a poster boy for good behavior and recovery in Hollywood. I’m just a guy who knows he has a lot to be grateful for.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - David Tennant
I often stop when I’m doing something, in the middle of rehearsals or some other job, and I try to take a minute to think, “Okay, this might be as good as it gets, so drink it in, appreciate it now”. So far, I’ve been lucky because another job has always come along to equal the last.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - James McAvoy
I’m mostly here through luck, and I’m very grateful for it, too. Nothing has come handed to me on a plate, and I still audition for every role, just as it should be.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Bradley James
Variety is the spice of life. I say that all of the time. Films are what got me into acting in the first place. I’d like to vary it - if I could find myself at the stage where I could go and do a film and then go and do a play, and keep doing different things to test out for myself what I’m capable of, I’d be very happy.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Colin Morgan
People often ask me what inspired me to become an actor, and the truth is I can’t answer that. For me, it was always more like a natural instinct. Every part, every performance I have ever taken has just been about feeding that desire to act.

30 ACTORS I ADMIRE - Michael Fassbender
What I find really interesting is to try and mix it up, to push myself and try different things. I don’t want to stay in my comfort zone. I want to take risks and keep myself scared.