Michael Hirst Quotes

With 'The Tudors,' I had a huge amount of material, I mean so many books and so much stuff about what they really said. So, in a way it was kind of trying to strip it out and find the stories inside all this material.

'The Tudors' was ground-breaking in the sense that it did ruffle the feathers of classical historians and alter the way people did period drama at the time.

One of the things the BBC does better than anyone is period drama.

I can pretty much say all of us know when 'Downton' is going to end. This is a show with a finite life.

Of course I had written a film about Elizabeth I, and I loved the Tudor period, and I think at the time Working Title and I had debated on whether to do Elizabeth I or Henry VIII. I'd always wanted to do Henry VIII. Like Elizabeth, I'd had this feeling that it had never properly been addressed.

I love 'Blackadder,' but history it certainly ain't.

I keep waiting for the day in which everyone who loves 'Downton Abbey' will realize they were actually watching a historical romance novel.

I actually don't watch much TV, but my goal is to watch 'Downton Abbey.' I want to catch up on the series... that's like my style.

I would love to do a British period drama.

I was fortunate enough to do an HBO show, 'Rome,' in which my arc was built in by historical fact, and over the course of 22 episodes, we were able to tell the stories of these people. We had a beginning and middle and end, and as we went on, you changed every week.

If 'Game Of Thrones' hadn't been made, I don't think 'The Last Kingdom' would have been, but this is more grounded in real life.

'Downton Abbey' didn't have the impact it had just because it was a good story about people. It was something about that period and that world that was fascinating to people on a level that wasn't just as an entertainment.

When I heard I had gotten 'Downton Abbey,' I remember I was standing on a freezing cold street in Manchester where we were shooting the Manchester part of 'West is West.'

I love 'Sons of Anarchy.' I was so excited to be able to be on this show, just because I personally watch it. Of course, I come from Disney, and I have a lot of young fans, but I do have fans who have grown with me as well.

I'd read a lot of scripts, and I remember reading 'Orange Is the New Black,' and it was at the head of the pack. I remember thinking, 'Wow, that is really good. I would love to be a part of that.'

If you asked me what my dream would be - obviously, 'NCIS' is a dream to me - I'd like to be on a period show.

It's interesting because I haven't done a lot of period work in the past, but I always wanted to because I'm interested in history.

Being a big fan of 'Glee,' I want to do the show justice.

'Downton Abbey' is one of my favourite shows ever - it's just beautifully filmed, and the stories and characters are so wonderful.

The American obsession with 'Downton' amuses me slightly because it's such a fiction. I've always been questioned about my historical veracity, and 'Downton' just flies past, when it's completely made up.

For 'Breaking Bad,' our offices were in the ugliest building in Burbank, California. Which, if you know Burbank, is really saying something.

A hit show takes Hollywood magic indeed, but it also takes a lot of math and science, plus the study of polls and trends to make and sell a TV show.

What you have to understand about period drama is that it's 'history light.'

There are two words that send romance authors into spasms of rapture: 'Downton Abbey.'

I'm a sucker for period pieces. There is always great opportunity for research and to delude yourself into feeling like you are in a different time and place.