When I am asked about influences, I always say I bow down to Fred Astaire, because when you look at him dancing you never look at his extremities, do you? You look at his centre. What you never see is the hours of work that went into the routines, you just see the breathtaking spirit and freedom.

You know, London is so sprawling, and you can sometimes forget that anybody else is on a stage anywhere else.

I was coming from a very cerebral, dark, difficult, layered play by Christopher Hampton and doing an action movie in Hollywood (Die Hard) with explosions, and I was holding a gun.

Market forces impose certain rules before a film can actually get made.

On film you put all your energies into a single glance.

I have just returned from the dubbing studio where I spoke into a microphone as Severus Snape for absolutely the last time.

Each character I play has different dimensions. I'm not interested in words that pull them together.