I try and reduce myself to an almost blank slate and hope to God that I am creative.

In order to inhabit a villain, you mustn't care what the audience think of you. That's not why you are there. You mustn't care for a second whether the audience likes you or dislikes you. Your villain has to be way beyond that.

The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.

My line-learning is very special. I like to learn the dialogue of the whole film before I arrive.

You don't go to a town to present the play and have applause at the end of it, but that's benign conquest. It's a glorious way of exploring other landscapes and other cultures in a very life-affirming way.

I think if I were to go back on stage I might be in great danger of acting.

All the great writers root their characters in true human behaviour.