People are not considerate of others. They tend not to consider themselves as all living together, but see themselves only as individuals.

If you're constantly frightened of being unhappy, how bloody exhausting must that be?

I think it's very important not to grow up with the unhealthy amount of attention that is sometimes put on people because they are 'actors'.

I had a great start in television; the first thing I did was an episode of Performance called The Entertainer with Michael Gambon playing Archie Rice.

As I've got older, I feel more confident in my body, so wouldn't want to tamper with it.

America is such a nation of suppressed emotion, and when you arrive in L.A., you can smell the fear. It's the most alien country I've ever been to.

When I was 14 I told my mother I intended to be in the House of Commons in the morning, in court in the afternoon and on stage in the evening. She realised then a fantasist had been born.