I do look at that thematic of healing of humanity.

We have to not just open our eyes to what's going on in other places; we need to open our eyes to what's going on right in front of us.

There's a thing you confront when you're going into something new and you come to this sort of abyss, and then you push yourself. It makes you try different things.

I really wasn't even sure if I should continue acting. I would like try and figure out if I could be good enough to do it. It was like 10 or 12 years into my career before I felt like maybe I can do it. It was such a different time than now.

I could never have gone to Africa another way and had the same experience. It was my job and my joy at the same time.

I hope that audiences respond really positively. I think it's a very intense, entertaining film [The Last King of Scotland], because you're brought in on a fun ride, and slowly you fall into it as James [actor James McAvoy's character, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan] does. Nicholas is like the audience. I think it's a good ride for people. And you learn something, as well.

Because I was playing Idi Amin, who dealt with the colonisation issue, I became aware of this internalised conflict of what it means to be torn between cultures, what it means to be taken over by other cultures.