Lars Mikkelsen

"That’s a certain Scandinavian tone... We're sort of melancholy aren’t we? It’s almost always raining." Lars Mikkelsen

Flight of the Conchords

"The audience was singing along... It was terrifying... We'll have to figure out what to do with that. If it doesn't work, we'll just never play live again." Bret McKenzie

David Thewlis

"I’ve got this really romantic image of my growing up, but it’s true. I really did grow up in a toy shop next to a candy store in the shadow of a huge theme park in a resort town." David Thewlis

Mark Sandman

"As a child, people told me they thought I'd grow up to be a poet. You have to wonder what kind of kid someone would say that to." Mark Sandman

Darren Aronofsky

“I’ve come to welcome chaos and mistakes into my work, and actually invite them in as much as possible, because I think that’s where poetry and freedom shoot out of, is all the mistakes.” Darren Aronofsky

J Mascis

"My friend said people think I'm lazy because I talk so slow"

"Why do you talk so slow?"

"I don't know. I guess because I'm lazy." J Mascis

Shirley Henderson

"I like doom and gloom with a sense of humour." Shirley Henderson

Claire Denis

"There's not much violence in my film but what there is springs from something very deep. I would say it's about love in a way. And what happens when you tangle with something that is stronger than you are." Claire Denis

Amelia Earhart

"In my life I had come to realize that when things were going very well indeed it was just the time to anticipate trouble. And, conversely, I learned from pleasant experience that at the most despairing crisis, when all looked sour beyond words, some delightful "break" was apt to lurk just around the corner." Amelia Earhart

Karen Russell

"One of the humbling things about growing up in South Florida was that now nothing I can come up with in a story holds a candle to the true weirdness of that place... Miami Seaquarium, the Coral Castle, Shark River Valley, Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle." Karen Russell

Charlotte Rampling

"By trying to control everything we become very neurotic, more and more desperate. It's a huge tragic thing." Charlotte Rampling

Anne-Marie Duff

"I was conscious that I didn't fit in with all that Thatcherite crap. Suddenly in the 80s it was all about going to get a job in Barclays and I remember thinking I can't even swallow that, it tastes so foul. You're so self-righteous when you're young." Anne-Marie Duff

Kristin Hersh

"My 3-year-old, his imagination just kicked in. He's so entertaining. He doesn't call me Mom anymore — he calls me Wondergirl: we have these long conversations between Batboy and Wondergirl. I'd rather hang out with him than anybody else right now." Kristin Hersh

Sofie Gråbøl

“I said I have only one wish for this scene, and it's that somebody has to get beneath the jumper.” Sofie Gråbøl

PJ Harvey

“…it seems almost preposterous that it could be autobiographical. I haven't drowned my daughter in a river, and I haven't crawled across the desert for 40 years either.” PJ Harvey

Ali Smith

"Stories can change lives if we're not careful. They will come in and take the shirts off our backs. Tell the right stories and we live better lives." Ali Smith

Noah Taylor

"I was mistaken for Prince once in Africa when I had a moustache." Noah Taylor

Lance Reddick

"This whole thing about race, that white people don't want to see it, is a lie. That people don't want to see really complex, politically, socially controversial material, it's a lie." Lance Reddick

John Malkovich

"Most of the women that I like have a haunted quality - they're sort of like women who live in a haunted house all by themselves." John Malkovich

Tony Leung

“I wanted this character to be very optimistic – always with a smile on his face – but I just wasn't able to put it into the scenes. I don't know why." Tony Leung

Spike Jonze

"Not everyone can be a world-renowned puppeteer – but damn it, that doesn't mean you can't perform, entertain, and shine as vividly as any of the greats." Spike Jonze

Jarvis Cocker

"I do tend to write about things more than I actually do them. Which is probably good news for womankind." Jarvis Cocker

Kevin McCloud

“I don’t enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture... I’m a big fan of gloom.” Kevin McCloud

Peter Dinklage

"I’m going to send you a fruit basket." Peter Dinklage.

Mark E. Smith

"I only have three chairs in the house: one for the wife, one for me, and one for a guest. No more. One guest at a time - that's my philosophy. You don't want your house turning into a hippy commune." Mark E. Smith

Bill Murray

"I'm a nut. But not just a nut." Bill Murray

Vincent Kartheiser

"I was a nut for Dostoevsky." Vincent Kartheiser

Mark Hollis

“I don’t like the way all these videos are sort of working. They’re getting closer and closer to advertisements and advertisements are getting closer and closer to pop videos. And you’re ending up with very little difference between something selling soap powder and someone actually making a video for their record. And I think that’s quite shameful.” Mark Hollis

Haruki Murakami

"Some people write me letters, complaining that they laugh when they read my books on the train. It’s very embarrassing for them. Those are the letters I like most." Haruki Murakami

Peter Capaldi

"My problem is that there's something in my character... I think it's just laziness." Peter Capaldi

Todd Sampson

''I'm still that kid in Nova Scotia thinking of how to do things differently. Money and position don't interest me, and I'm still most comfortable with the kinds of people I grew up with. It took me a long while to realise that I am who I was." Todd Sampson