I don't know why they gave me a knighthood - though it's very nice of them - but I only ever use the title in the U.S. The Americans insist on it and get offended if I don't.

I've always liked to be a meat and potatoes kind of actor who doesn't believe in any of the highfalutin stuff about acting, so I tend to be a little bit more cynical.

I don't have any [favourite role]. I'm just a working actor.

I became an actor because I didn't know what else to do. Academically, I wasn't good.

Acting is about listening and reacting. John Wayne was right: Acting is just reacting. You don't have to do much - as long as you stay out of the way of others. That's why it works.

Beware the tyranny of the weak. They just suck you dry.

I'm more and more convinced that life is a dream. What has happened to me is surely a dream.