RICHARD C. ARMITAGE

I think most five-foot-two people would be quite offended if they were to be called dwarves.

Te Papa Museum is brilliant.

I've never been that cute kid that was forgiven for being naughty.

I'm not interested in building wealth, which is kind of naive and probably frowned on, living in America. It's something that people don't necessarily understand, but if I die poor, I die poor.

My mum will not speak above a low whisper in public because she doesn't want to draw attention to herself.

I've done an awful lot of skiing all over Europe: I've done Italy, Austria, France. I skied loads in New Zealand - I did pretty much every ski slope I could find.

I think that when Tolkien created Gollum and the ring, he even expressed in his biography that he never really knew what he created until he went back and looked at it.

I never like to go out of character when filming starts. I fear that if I do, I might not be able to pick it up again.

I think my fighting skills have certainly been improved by working with Peter Jackson.

I'm not a massive fan of 3D. I've seen some good 3D, and I've seen quite a lot of bad 3D. I think if a film is created for the shock effect of 3D, then it's a certain type of film that I'm not massively bothered about.

Tolkien was, I believe, writing about his experience in the First and Second World Wars, where he would have spent a lot of time without any female contact. He was part of the fellowship of men who went to war, and I think, really, that's what he's writing about.

I kind of got lost down a road of TV and film, so it's great to come back to theatre.

When you already have a following, people are more likely to employ you.

I'd like to live off-grid.

As an actor, you're like, 'Yeah, I want that phone call from Peter Jackson saying, 'You're my first choice for Thorin Oakenshield.'

You've got to have baddies that you can boo.

My instruction to my parents is that I would rather they enjoy their retirement than leave me anything when they go. I am much happier watching them enjoying life.

You can spend a bit of yourself when you give yourself to a character. At the end of a job, you have to remind yourself who and what you are.

It is possible to work out of New York on film and television and still not lose your connection to theater.

You fight for certain roles, and you realise they're being filled by television and film actors, because theatre is constantly fighting for survival and they need names and faces and ticket sales.

I have a bit of pride, which is always my downfall.

It fills me with dismay sometimes when you look at the scripts that do come to you that are primarily focused on violence. There are so many other things to play around with.

I'm not much of a show-off.

Once you don't smile on film, they say, 'Let's have that bloke who doesn't smile.'

I think insanity is the hardest thing to play.