Film has to be reflecting the world that we live in, and that's all you want to be a part of. Actors inhabit the same planet as everyone else. It's a weird thing that happens when you're an actor because people hold you up because you somehow embody in parts groups of people or people's hopes or something.

And it's a human need to be told stories. The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible.

I knew with Snape I was working as a double agent, as it turns out, and a very good one at that.

I've learned, having been on a lot of sets, the good news is that by definition you are surrounded by experts. They get fired if they're not - unlike in the theatre!

Los Angeles is not a town full of airheads. There's a great deal of wonderful energy there.

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

Nothing gives me as much pleasure as travelling. I love getting on trains and boats and planes.