Words matter. These are the best Samuel Barnett Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
My life, my family and my friends are back in the U.K., so ideally I would love the kind of career that is split between London and New York.
Obviously we had to study Shakespeare at school, but to be honest, I was not a fan. I found the language very difficult, and I didn’t enjoy watching it or studying it. I auditioned five times for the Royal Shakespeare Company early on in my career, and I didn’t even get past the first rounds.
Are men and women different creatures? Do we feel things differently? Being a man, I can’t know what a woman feels.
It’s like saying French shouldn’t be taught because you don’t understand it because it’s new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.
I never wanted to do Shakespeare; I never liked watching it, it’s always frightened me, and I’ve never been any good at it. But I really wanted to work with the director Tim Carroll and Mark Rylance.
I really admire paintings that look like an actual snapshot – I think that’s just extraordinary.
Like the Elizabeth I play, Queen Elizabeth is a monarch who actually moves with the times. She gets new information, assimilates it, and changes in order the fit in with the way the world is moving. I admire that.
I’ve definitely learned that if you want to have power as a woman in Shakespeare’s time, and it’s still relevant today, that you have to play a different game than men play, and you have to be a lot cleverer.
The Pre-Raphaelites, while very bothered by what the establishment thought of them, also utterly rebelled against it. In everything – social, sexual, emotional – they were out on a limb, pushing the boundaries.
I feel like I’ve gotten more than a lot of people will ever get. I feel very fortunate.
I guess I’ve grown to admire Queen Elizabeth II more. I’ve always struggled with my feelings about the Royal Family. I am a supporter. I’m not someone who thinks we should get rid of them. But what I’ve struggled with is the lack of emotionality that the Queen seems to share.
In New York, I get people coming up to me because ‘The History Boys’ was such a hit on Broadway, and they show the film all the time on cable over there, so people recognise you.
I love just walking around New York. It’s like a whole world in one place.
This industry isn’t fair. It doesn’t owe anybody a career. It’s just about luck, determination, and showing up and being professional. The rest is out of your hands.
I have been out of drama school for 13 years, so there are 13 years’ worth of graduates behind me.
