I choose to be inspired by things that have been done well in the past. So, I don't worry about being compared, because I think that does paralyze you.

Being Irish, I always had this love of words.

My parents are the reason I wanted to make Shakespeare available to ordinary people.

I did not expect to be allowed to be an actor, to be allowed to eventually direct things.

I only got 'War and Peace' on the third attempt.

I have a pathetic urge at some stage in my life to be able to pull out my wallet and pull out a little card on which it would say, 'Kenneth Branagh, artistic director.'

I think in the wake of the domination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everyone is now looking for a grand plan.

I did 'Celebrity' by Woody Allen. I did 'The Gingerbread Man' with Robert Altman. These were big talents.

In Northern Ireland, I truly, effortlessly, knew who I was. I knew where I belonged. I felt completely and utterly secure.

The idea of accumulating ambitions or achievements didn't get much further than wanting to do the next exciting thing. I really haven't set out with any list of achievements.

For a nanosecond in the pre-Internet pre-digital age, I was a hot young actor, in the sense of popular, and then it passed.

I'm involved in Northern Ireland Screen and have been for a long time, so I keep my eyes open and ears to the ground.

I think what you're always looking for as artists is to be honest and to continue to be honestly driven by that which you are passionately engaged with. It should need not be forced.

I was a big admirer of F.D.R. He saved Britain.

Carrying a movie is both a great privilege, it's a great opportunity, but it can be a great pressure, and sometimes that can make people behave very oddly.

I would say my voice is actor-neutral.

In 'Henry V,' the story of the assumption of true and responsible leadership by Henry I think is hard-won. He has to lose friends; he has to risk his life.

The records - what little we know about Shakespeare, including the records of the plays in his playhouse - were often the story of how quickly they came off if they didn't work. They had to move on. They were absolutely led by box office.

You can't live in nostalgia-land.

A creative and artistic home is what I've been looking for in the theatre.

I'm interested in creating new work.

I live in the English countryside, so I'm surrounded by magpies.

It's funny to be in rooms where you were originally referred to as 'The Shakespeare Guy' and to suddenly be in the position where you're 'The Blockbuster Guy.' That's a pretty unusual turnabout, I must say.

Many of us live in dysfunctional families, and so even if it's in a fairy tale, or perhaps because it's in a fairy tale, we have a chance to look at that side of our reflected lives differently.

I think that Shakespeare himself raided fairy tales and chronicle writers, and he always looked to people who worked in the mythic genres, whether it was folk tales or popular novels.

My dreams are bigger than money; they're bigger than fame.

New Day rocks. I can't lie.

I loved Japanese culture before even realizing it was, in fact, Japanese culture. The cartoons and anime I was watching as a child, my favorite video games, and even in pro wrestling - my favorite wrestlers and matches originated in Japan.

Part of what makes my character work is the delivery of the truth behind my comments.

What true 'Strong Style' really is, is the battle of the heart of man. It's not about how strong and how forceful you're throwing your blows. It's showing the never-say-die attitude of the human spirit. As long as it looks like you're fighting and giving your all, people will believe.

Winning the title is an important detail to the story, but how you get there is much more important.

There are days when you have tag matches, but you need to prepare for your next singles match on that same day.

Why use your natural abilities to make someone feel bad? I just want to be the guy who uses his power to be positive.

I think it's important to show in the 21st century that if you're gay, lesbian, trans, whatever, that you should feel just as welcome to be a wrestling fan as anyone else. You're welcome in the space.

Ibushi isn't going anywhere. He's staying with me, and I support his success 100%. But we will continue our success as the Golden Lovers, both as a tag team and as single performers.

It's easy to make rude comments simply for the sake of being rude, but I'd much rather go a more psychological route.

It's no secret that I love the country, and Japan has always felt like a second home to me.

WWE, of course, has had some fantastic two out of three falls matches.

A lot of people think that comedy is sort of a cop out to not wrestling seriously, but I actually would argue that comedy is much more difficult than wrestling seriously because you have to be creative in almost everything that you do if you want the comedy to make sense within the realms of pro wrestling.

The best wrestler in the world is me.

Okada and Tanahashi, they don't mind being the wrestler that approaches everything day-of in the ring. I like to go in-depth, to tell the human side of Cody Rhodes, the human side of Kenny Omega. That's why Being The Elite exists.

As an artist, I really feel I need an outlet to exhibit all of my skills.

This IWGP title means more with me than any WWE championship.

You're not going to get a seven-star match or six or five in a seven-minute segment, but I always do the best I can to make that segment memorable and entertaining, and I think that's always the name of the game.

I am flawed, but at least I can admit it, and at least Kenny Omega, Tyson Smith, is exposed to every single one of you, every single night I perform in the ring. And the relationships that I have in my life with the fans, they're all with me. We are all family.

I sort of took the literal term of 'The Cleaner,' and I started bringing janitorial items to the ring with me, so I took garbage bags and brooms and mops.

I guess what Kenny Omega is, even though the image is something that was given to me by New Japan and then tweaked by me, it's just me, Tyson Smith. Yeah, that's me, just a guy that likes to joke around when he doesn't have to be serious. And when he has to be serious, he's really serious!

If you're holding a championship that means something in the landscape of Japanese wrestling, you're guaranteed to get a huge feature in almost every magazine - you might even be guaranteed a front page. That's big.

I really want to be an integral part of the New Japan brand in the United States - and other countries, for that matter, too. I feel that I have a certain versatility that other wrestlers do not.

I could say, you know, if I could work with Seth Rollins at some point in time, that would be a lot of fun.