Id love to work with the people who really got the film industry going again through the 70s: Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, Gillian Armstrong, Fred Schepisi.

As we mature and grow older we collect a lot of baggage, and a lot of that stuff you collect on life's journey gets in the way of acting. My kids can imagine a character and transform in the blink of an eye. It's so simple for kids, so complex for adults.

I think you have to find the humanity in the character and then the deterioration is a part of the process - the journey of the character. It's like playing King Lear. You can start off as a nice old man who finishes up crazy.

I'll never forget anything about Middle Earth. That's part of my memory now so I won't miss anything.

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.

Some people would say I've made it now.

In very general terms 'Top Of The Lake' is about good and evil. It's a deep dark mystery. It also deals with lots of fascinating human relationships, and it's also about the battle of the sexes.