He knows that you have ability and what he does is he manipulates it and sort of empowers you.

I genuinely believe that if you want to get in the film business, get in the film business.

I've never really had a desire to do Shakespeare. For me, it's just too many lines.

I've seen a lot in my life, and everybody goes down the dark, winding staircase eventually. It's a bad place to be and that's why having good friends is always essential. Those are the people who pull you out.

Although I'm not from London originally: I moved down here when I was 16, so it's played a part in my life. It's where I've lived for all that time.

There is, come to think of it, a kind of Judi Dench quality to McCain.

hen Baillie [Walsh, writer and director] wrote the movie for me I wasn't doing what I'm doing today, so when we actually came to make the movie it seemed silly to change it. But who knows? That's the way things go. What was interesting for me - and what was always interesting in the script - was that you've got someone who appears to have everything, or at least has the opportunity to have everything, and he's f**ked it up, or lost it.