I did not want to put myself on the line, as an Australian playing Britains greatest comic actor. The fans of Sellers are obsessive, possessive - and aggressive. I did not want to risk their anger - or my own reputation.

There's four biggies. There was Elizabeth I, George III, Victoria, and the current queen, who really dominated four eras.

I always felt thrilled and amazed that I could put actor on my tax form.

You had to be into sport and, sad to say, I'm a traitor to my country because I don't have a sporting bone in my body.

Sometimes you do feel a script that glows in your hand the moment you start reading it. By page four of Shakespeare in Love, I said, 'I have to be in this movie.

Freedom is the kind of essence of being a pirate: You're away from land-locked Europe. You're not part of the society. You're part of the brotherhood of the sea, Your ship is your sense of identity. So when you approach the wheel, that's what you own.

What I appreciated was the fact that the script delved into how Australians were - and still are - condescended to by the English.