James Purefoy Quotes

The Ides of March? That doesn't worry me.

I was nine. I saw Orson Welles in 'Julius Caesar.' It was involving, emotional, imaginative. I've never forgotten it.

Cleopatra was on a political mission to save her country and her power, but what we remember about her are these two famed seductions, which are a matter of politics, not a matter of love.

I think all novels are contemporary. When people went to see 'Antony-Cleopatra' at the Globe in the 16th century, they were not going to get a history lesson on the Roman Empire. It was about love, sex, and also about dynastic troubles.

'Ides of March' I did for scale - scale as a director, scale as an actor, scale as a writer.

You, too, Brutus my son! Et tu, Brute fili.

Cleopatra is one of the roles that I would love to do!

When I was younger, I acted in some Shakespeare stuff; I did one Shakespeare camp.

But as I grew up as a child, falling in love with the theater and Shakespeare, my heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud.

And to Shakespeare I owe my vision of the world as a theater, wherein all humans are acting out their parts.

I really don't remember much about Cleopatra. There were a lot of other things going on.

Shakespeare is rich and beautiful, and it can be an amazing experience to read and to watch and to work on.

I've played almost every lead character from Henry VI to Othello. I'm dying to tackle Richard III sometime.

I think when you play a role, you always have to be a defense attorney for that character.

After drama school I did a seven-month tour of Europe performing in 'Romeo and Juliet.' I played Romeo.

I think American actors are much more intimidated by Shakespeare.

You draw on whatever's relevant to the part you're playing; it makes it more personal.

I love the Shakespeare history plays; I love the struggle for the crown as a plot.

I think it's always funny when you see kids do Shakespeare.

One day, out of irritation, I said, you know all of those years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, all those years of playing kings and princes and speaking black verse, and bestriding the landscape of England was nothing but a preparation for sitting in the captain's chair of the Enterprise.

Perhaps because my background is theatrical, I have a great affinity with the classics. Hamlet has always been a character of great interest to me and a character I would really love to play. Or a character in a Tennessee Williams play, maybe Tom in 'The Glass Menagerie.'

I don't know, I'd love to try some theater. That's my other thing. I'd love to do some Shakespeare.

I'm a big lover of Shakespeare. In fact, the only plays that I've ever done professionally in New York have been Shakespearian.

I love playing a role, anything that's dramatic. I'm enjoying living that kind of life: being someone else, getting to die, being a temptress. I enjoy being someone else on stage.

The way I approach acting when there's a real life character, it's sort of like a Venn diagram. What I come up with is some amalgam of the two of us.