I have a photograph at home of Fred Astaire from the knees down with his feet crossed. It's kind of inspiring because it reminds me his feet were bleeding at the end of rehearsals. Yet when you watch him, all you see is freedom. It's a reminder of what the job is about in general, not just being in musicals.

The first time that I came to New York to work properly was the mid-'80s, but I was doing eight shows a week. You have no life. Going to a punk rock club - or whatever the music was at that time - would not have been on my agenda.

I suppose with any good writing and interesting characters, you can have that awfully overused word [...] - a jouuuuuurney.

I don't play villains, I play very interesting people

Give me a window and I'll stare out it.

I think there should be laughs in everything. Sometimes, it's a slammed door, a pie in the face or just a recognition of our frailties.

Every so often you read a play and a character just speaks to you - almost seems to speak through you, in fact.