I was 11 when a teacher suggested to my parents that they should send me to drama classes to curb my disruptive ways in the classroom. The next Saturday I was acting, and thereafter it became a ritual of my youth to see a show at the Belvoir on Sundays and, if I was lucky, another at the Opera House on Monday after school.

I'm becoming a frustrated director, I think, in an actor's body.

In all honesty, if somebody asked me the secret of auditioning for Americans, I don't know. Often, I do what's called self-taping for America. I go over there quite a lot to sit in a room and do stuff in front of people. You feel like a performing monkey. It's bizarre.

Well you just have to own it, I suppose. Own the character, which is difficult.

Australia is a phenomenally beautiful country, and every time I go away and come back, it never ceases to amaze me.

Listening and hearing are two different things, and acting is comprehending what the person is saying, thinking how it makes you feel and responding. That's the key to really honest, truthful, compelling performance.

I have a sort of long-term plan to direct. I'm pragmatic about it. I realize I don't need to rush it or force it.