Daniel Mays Quotes

Before filming I’ll be constantly thinking about my role at the back of my mind and slowly build up the intensity until I can explode on set. There is a very fine line between not quite getting there, and getting that bit too intense.

I guess I’m always drawn to the underbelly of someone, really, as opposed to how heroic they are. I don’t judge those sorts of people.

God, I’ve played a lot of policeman.

I like to be in character a good few hours before I arrive for filming.

I couldn’t believe how big Ben Affleck’s trailer was. It was like a spaceship – I remember thinking, I’d live in that.

I’ve become a lot more politicised because of Brexit.

Everyone’s got that dream of Ibiza, you’ve either been or you want to go, because it’s kind of got this mystical quality to it.

I’ve never been burgled. I don’t quite know what I would do if it was the dead of night and there was someone in the house, and my kids were asleep upstairs.

I had gone from job to job up in London before ‘Fisherman’s Friends’.

Everyone’s life is extraordinary if you look at it closely enough.

I try to mix the characters up and not be second guessed by the audience.

Yeah, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare, to lose connection with your children, to not fully engage with them or have an understanding of what crowd of people they’re mixing with, what they are watching online.

To a degree… you wanna make your way in the industry, so you kind of get what you’re given at first.

I come from Essex, Buckhurst Hill, where Jade Goody was buried. My hometown will forever be known for that.

I eat porridge all week, but Sundays are for something more exciting. I make a mean fry-up – to be honest that’s pretty much all I can cook.

Ever since the commercial smash that was ‘The Full Monty’, we’ve always made films about underdogs. It’s something that embodies Britishness and that sense of community and people punching above their weight.

I listen to music to try and focus or concentrate on emotional characters, which is quite common among actors. It might seem cheesy, but I particularly listen to Coldplay because I’m moved by their lyrics. But any music can help depending on the character and their mood.

When I was 13, I was a member of a women’s over-40s tap class.

But the calibre of actors that they attract to come and do the guest leads on ‘Doctor Who’ is fantastic. You weigh it up, and in this series alone, there’s Hugh Bonneville, Frances Barber, David Walliams. Toby Jones has done it.

I always liked ‘Doctor Who’ but I wasn’t a crazed fan when I was a kid.

I’m just drawn to something that has a good story. ‘Outcasts’ didn’t do so well, but I really admired the premise behind the show.

Kids have got such active imaginations and they’re scared of so many different things.

My older brother’s a cricket groundsman, my other brother’s a salesman, and my younger brother’s a trader in the City.

I went to stage school, I went to Rada, I’ve been in this London bubble for as long as I can remember, which is involved with being as inclusive and accepting of any people from different countries, different walks of life, different religion – that’s who I am.

It’s something I have always tried to do in my career – play outside the box.