I had a very sparse comic upbringing - not because I was being whipped into reading Chekhov and Dickens, but I read Asterix on holidays when I was a kid, and Tin Tin was featured, I remember, for a few years.

I feel that TV and film feed off each other well. It's more in the perception of the viewer than it is of the actor.

I think I've had very knee-jerk emotional reactions to things, and sometimes I've said things without thinking. Being overly emotional clouded my judgment.

You can perfect genius because genius is not perfection. On his level and his practice and his methodology, it's almost inhuman. So, that's been a fantastic arc to play, and boy does it go somewhere in this series.

This is an odd profession, and sometimes people get jealous, but I haven't really experienced any of that. Everyone's been really happy for me, which is really, really great.

I'm interested in art for all. I don't want it to be only the sons and daughters of Tory MPs who get to see my plays.

I'm quite sensitive to people noticing me. There are times when I'm relaxed, then others when it does make me self-conscious.