I love what I'm doing most of the time, but it's hard work. People only see your albums in the charts. They see us at award shows and after-show parties. They don't know about your doubts, the hard work that goes in.

It's like a relay race of being ignored. It is really challenging, but whenever I get asked that stuff, I feel really self-conscious about it. I feel really lucky because we have a lot of help. When I first began to be a dad with Gwen [Stefani], I was amazed at what she went through.

Wherever you look there are inspirations, books, literature, paintings, landscapes, everything. Just living is an inspiration.

I'm not a workaholic, but I was a bit manic, I have to confess.

I always wrote about things that were important to me. I think our past success showed that it was also important for a lot of others.

Dub and reggae... I play that a lot around the house.

By just passing through things, I continue to slightly limit myself. I want the jobs that don't say that much. I'm often the stepping stone or the conduit from one thing to another. I love the idea of existing in a film and growing and having bigger arcs, and being in scenes where you're just being, as opposed to talking. That' one of my ambitions, lying ahead.