Being at the centre of a film is a burden one takes on with innocence the first time. Thereafter, you take it on with trepidation.

In all fields of creativity you see the result of work that has become habit. Where the creative impulse has become flaccid or has died out altogether, and yet because it is our work and our life we continue to do it.

When I do work, I feel the same sort of urgency as I ever did. If I didn't feel that, I don't think I would wish to be doing it. I wouldn't really see the point.

I find it easier to work when it's quiet.

You've just provided me with the makings of one hell of a weekend in Dublin.

Leaving a role is a terrible sadness. The last day of the shooting is surreal. Your soul, your body and your mind are not ready at all to see the end of this experience. In the following months after a film shoot, one feels a deep sense of void.

I find it difficult to be in rooms now for long periods of time. I can usually take it for about an hour. Then I stride out.