I want to make a clear distinction between people who take acting seriously and people who call themselves actors because theyve been on reality TV or something.

It's an unfair comparison because when things are developed in the UK, they're developed at script stage only.

I think people like to be scared. I think people like tension and suspense in a movie.

There are ways of avoiding becoming tabloid fodder and therefore giving people license to pry into your private life. And there's a distinction between being an actor and being a celebrity. You may become a celebrity through acting, but you don't need to do so.

The best shows succeed because they tap into a national conversation.

Quiet people, people who arent given to emotional outbursts, people who are economic with words - theyre also fun to play, but you find yourself needing a laser precision in those roles. Otherwise you just sort of stand around, looking slightly brain-dead. You worry about being uninteresting.

No Western government has ever played the long-term in terms of foreign policy.