The biggest lesson Stephen Strange learns in this film is it's not all about him.

My own grandfathers were a submarine commander and a 'desert rats' tank operator in the Second World War.

The story [in 12 Years a Slave] serves as a metaphor for the fear of having your family taken away, and for being abused in such a horrific way. I lost it a lot of times watching that film, particularly when seeing the grace of the man when he finally makes it back home aged, changed, forever brutalized, and yet he apologizes to his family for his long absence. That was such a profoundly moving moment capturing the triumph of dignity over the disgraceful behavior of those involved in the slave trade.

I understand from those who adore him, he [Julian Assange] has a great sense of humor which rarely gets an airing because he's dealing with such serious issues.

I never really got obsessed about one thing for long. I was a bit of a butterfly and a magpie.

I'm aware of [Doctor Strange] place within the comic pantheon of it all, the Marvelverse, but I don't email saying, "When are we doing next film?" I'm excited to see.

Landing the role of Stephen Hawking was the most positively surprising thing that has happened to me.