Top 75 Quotes & Sayings by Michelle Dockery

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an English actress Michelle Dockery.
Last updated on November 18, 2024.
Michelle Dockery

Michelle Suzanne Dockery is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

I think so often you can come out of drama school and get thrown in the deep end.
In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.
I come from a very working-class background, so my family would have been downstairs in the past, as opposed to upstairs. People are often quite surprised to hear that, that I'm not actually posh.
I love discovering tiny streets. — © Michelle Dockery
I love discovering tiny streets.
I get so excited about reading a new script.
I do believe in one true love.
In my twenties, I was a bit of a worrier; it bothered me what people thought of me, what job I was doing.
'Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.
Until I was 27, I'd maybe been to America once and, like, Ibiza when I was 18. That was it.
People will consider me a part of their lives for however long 'Downton Abbey' lasts. It's a lovely thing to feel as an actor.
I'm quite surprised at how out of control I can be on stage because, actually, I find I like to be in control in life. It's quite freeing, really.
The kitchen is the most important place in any house. Visit your family, and that's where you'll end up. Go to a party, that's where everyone congregates.
It's a bit of a history lesson, being an actor. I was in 'Burnt By The Sun' at the National, which was set in Stalinist Russia, so I discovered all about that. You learn so much as you go along.
I just enjoy acting, whatever area - theatre, film, television. — © Michelle Dockery
I just enjoy acting, whatever area - theatre, film, television.
You learn an incredible amount doing theatre, not just about to behave.
If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.
The way I see it, the third series of 'Downton Abbey' is all about change and how each character adapts to those changes.
I'm the youngest of three sisters, and my parents have always encouraged all of us to do whatever made us happy.
At the age of eight, I auditioned for 'The Sound of Music' and made it through to the third round, where we all stood in a row like the Von Trapp family and had to sing.
I really enjoy singing, it's entirely different to acting because I'm just being myself.
I worked out; I moved 16 times from the age of 19, just hopping about from different flats, because I couldn't always afford to stay.
It's great to have a home and everything else that comes with it.
Shakespeare and his work will always be relevant. He wrote those pieces hundreds of years ago and we haven't really changed as humans, have we? We have to deal with love, honour and adultery now - people were the same then, too - that's what's so wonderful and powerful.
I've had moments of thinking maybe I should go on Twitter. It's something that I've been shy about, and I've thought that maybe I should do it.
I think my parents knew before I did that I was going to be an actress, because I was doing impressions of Margaret Thatcher at the age of four.
The journey matters as much as the destination. By engaging in the moment on set, I've stopped rushing and now find pleasure in the collaborative process - the characters, the costumes - rather than worrying about the finished product.
I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and it's something that carries with me to this day.
I think the success of 'Downton' is partly because there are effectively 18 leading characters, all given equal importance, so it's enormously involving on many levels. But also, it's a new story. It's not like Dickens or Austen, where everyone knows the denouement.
When I was a child, I went to stage school three times a week in the evenings - singing, ballet, tap, modern and acting, and I loved it.
My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it was amazing. I got big bonus points for it. I'll remind them when they're teenagers.
Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.
'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.
I'm taller than most actresses, so most corsets tend to be too short in the body.
My family keeps me sane. I try to talk to my mum every other day. After I get off the phone, I have a renewed sense of clarity, so I guess a problem shared is a problem lost. It's important to me to keep them close.
Laugh at yourself - a lot. My mum taught me not to take myself too seriously.
It's always fun to play dress up.
I wasn't an academic. I hated maths and science at school. I couldn't concentrate.
I just want a really varied career, and just to keep going, really.
I don't have to walk around in hats or find remote places to go for lunch! I don't get recognised that often. — © Michelle Dockery
I don't have to walk around in hats or find remote places to go for lunch! I don't get recognised that often.
I want a house with a garden, but slap bang in the centre of London. Next door to a sushi bar.
It's old news, me and my accent, but it always seems to make headlines.
I'm not accident prone, really, but I was cutting something and sort of lost control, and it went through my big toe. There was a lot of blood and I nearly fainted, but its totally fine now.
I think the first time I realised 'Downton Abbey' was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about 'Downton Abbey,' and then they recognised me.
I don't mind wearing a corset, it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.
Silk scarves are my thing. I tie them to my handbag or thread them through belt loops or wear them in my hair. Never round my neck, though.
There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.
My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.
My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.
I'd like to do something that involves music. — © Michelle Dockery
I'd like to do something that involves music.
I don't get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.
We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays - I can travel where I like, I can do any job I want - but I think chivalry has been lost a little bit.
The whole acting game can sometimes be a bit false, and you meet a lot of people in it for the fame - so there's nothing I love more than going back to Essex.
I love cycling, but if I could find a way of building something above the streets for cyclists, that would be amazing. We need even more space.
For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.
I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Instagram and follow Lena Dunham and Usher.
'Expect nothing and hope for the best' is my mantra. A drama teacher called Joseph Blatchley told me that, and it's the best advice I've had. If you keep an open mind and don't expect too much, then you won't be disappointed.
I think some period drama can be quite alienating, but 'Downton' isn't. This is going to sound quite, um, pretentious, but someone said that it's like a soap written by a poet.
Being in the same scenes as Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine is something I will never forget.
I can be so blown away by story lines.
I'm quite into the French way - simple elegance with just a suggestion of sexiness, nothing vulgar.
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