I suspect the base that I'm working from is not particularly one of inquiry, but of memory of what I did last time.

You always think that 70 is the end of the road: 'Somebody died when they were 73; good life'. You're closer to death, and you better make sure you don't waste too much of your time doing things you don't want to do. No point in saying things you don't believe in.

I was brought up in industrial south Lancashire, down the cobbled road from where LS Lowry (1887-1976) lived and painted.

That's the imagination that happens in the theater. That imagination is translated in film by the film magicians and all the technology.

My acting stopped being about disguise and became about truth which suits the camera, so my film career took off when I came out.

[There's] nothing special about an actor's imagination, except that he uses it a lot.

I tend to discourage people from calling me 'Sir Ian,' because I don't like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you're writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They're impressed by these things.