Years ago I met Richard Burton in Port Talbot, my home town, and afterwards he passed in his car with his wife, and I thought, 'I want to get out and become like him'. Not because of Wales, because I love Wales, but because I was so limited as a child at school and so bereft and lonely, and I thought becoming an actor would do that.

I'm very much a loner. I don't like long relationships with people and I always keep people at a distance.

I don't have many friends; I'm very much a loner. As a child I was very isolated and I've never been really close to anyone.

We have a Boesendorfer piano that I play every day. It keeps my brain and my fingers active.

Actors I admire? Ed Harris, or course, I think he's terrific; because I know he always had to fight being what he looked like a lot, but I think he's a terrific actor.

There is nothing to be scared of in movies. It's a bit scarier going on stage.

Some nights you might go through an entire performance and not feel a thing, and the audience may have a much better time, 'cause if you're enjoying yourself on stage too much, they're having a terrible time because they can't hear you. And if you're a woman your mascara's running.