I don't do things lightly, I don't take a job then just phone it in, I've never done that.

I've sort of done a play every four or five years I guess if I look back in my career. And I think that's good.

Starting with a party scene for 600 cast and end up singing on top of a giant elephant...does it get any better than this?

I would encourage you as a screenwriter to trust your story and don't make notes for the actors or don't make notes for the reader.

A lot of parents tell their children that if they want to be an actor, that's fine, but they should do something else first, so they've got something to fall back on. It doesn't work like that, as far as I'm concerned.

Once you've agreed the script, you must be willing to go as far as it needs to go on set.

I think my home is in that sort of the part of cinema that's disappeared is where I lived, that sort of mid-budget you know, drama. I suppose that's what I am known for.