I've always had, like, from the age of about 11, I've had such an intolerance for bad behaviour of actors that I don't think I was ever going to be that person.

My favorite phrase, that a friend of mine who worked on the Potter films and was a lot older than me would use in front of me, and I picked up from him many great phrases - the English have a lot of great idioms for sweating. I don't know why that is. But that's what we do. I feel like it's particularly our country; probably everywhere has a lot of idioms for sweating. He always said, "I'm sweating like a glassblower's asshole," which I always found an incredibly strange and yet vivid image.

People tell me I look mournful. They say, "Cheer up, Dan, it's not that bad!" Sometimes, I just look into space, which freaks people out. If I was ever required to do anything other than look haunted, I could. I'm a happy person.

As far as I can tell, most actors' main motivation is self-doubt and neuroses.

My dad grew up in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, desperate to get to London. I grew up in London, so I don't know what it's like to yearn for the big city from a small town.

There is always this thing of will you get too old for your part? But people are playing a lot younger than they actually are in real life. I don't think it's as big an issue as a lot of people are making it out to be.

It's interesting for myself, growing up as an Asian-American filmmaker. Coming into the industry, my parents always said, "No one's going to give you the opportunity. You just have to do the work. Be better than everyone else, so they can't deny it."