Peter Morgan

I actually speak fluent German. And I live in Vienna, and I'm married to a Viennese woman.

As a European from a different, younger generation, the trauma that was Nixon's presidency never really had a hold over me. For one thing, I never voted for him.

The first and primary requirement for me in a director that I'd want to work with is: do they love writing, and do they love the collaboration process with writers?

There's something about the soul of a country that is somehow connected to the head of state.

I can't help slightly falling in love with every character I write about. And I quite like writing about people who are vilified.

My experience is, I do a table reading, and it's literally like it's written in colossal neon lights what's wrong with the screenplay.

People test movies within an inch of their life so that the entire audience experience is a uniform one.

I have a great deal of compassion for those in public life and what we have done to them.

The real beauty in my professional experience has been friendships and collaborations with filmmakers.

It is a fairly serious thing that you're doing if you're writing about people who are still alive and who still have a role in public life. Sometimes you don't want to be reminded too much of the responsibility.

Most leading actresses have this energy, this 'Look at me. Here I am.' They're powerful; they're beautiful.

I have always cited the decision by director Stephen Frears to shoot 'Mrs. Henderson Presents' before my script of 'The Queen' as the reason for my taking the plunge as a playwright.