So it became in my mind a nine-carol service; an oratorio and orchestral concert all in one, but with narration. That's something I've learned about, because it's the story that keeps you in there. I wrote a libretto and I gave it to John Du Prez. We normally don't work in this fashion but I said off you go, and he went off for about three months. He brought me back this demo which blew my mind.

You get interviewed when you're out promoting something.

Never do things for money. It's always the things you do for love that turn out to pay the best.

We destroy icons - that's what we do.

I'm not really a celebrity; I'm just vestigially left over from doing stuff from before.

At Cambridge, you have to kiss the vice-chancellor's fingers. But I missed out on that, 'cause I was doing a matinee. I don't want to kiss a strange man's fingers anyway.

Filming a pirate film is always good fun, with ships and indecent clothing.