Quotes

'I'm not a star, I'm an actor - there's a difference!'

The older you get, the more you find yourself looking for things you used to see and liked when you were younger.

Oddly enough, I'm not religious but I'm also very fond of St Peter's in Rome. When I'm there, I always know there's a good meal not far away.

I'll read a book every now and then, but unlike most of my friends I don't always have one on the go.

I have just enough public appreciation to make me happy.

I grew up in the 1950s at the beginning of rock n' roll, and would strum a tennis racket in front of the mirror.

I live a very ordinary life. The rare awards ceremonies I go to are quite fun, because I can enjoy the irony of one minute walking to the tube, and the next being driven along the same stretch of road in a limo.

I know people whose entire lives are ruined by fame. If you make yourself exclusive, people want to break that down, but if you go about doing your shopping, no one bugs you.

When I left school, I wanted to be an artist, specifically a painter.

[on being cast as Pope Francis in Les Deux Papes (2019) and his resemblance to him]: It seemed it was going to be on the cards for quite awhile. The day Francis was declared pope, the internet was full of images of me and him and 'Is Jonathan Pryce the Pope?' Even my son texted me 'Dad, are you the Pope?'

You should play Lear while you're young enough to lift Cordelia up and carry her. I was 65, and I put my back out doing it - I couldn't carry her for the entire second half of the production's run. I was having a lot of trouble with my knees, too. Having to kneel all the time was very painful. But at least when you're a king, there's always someone there to help you up.