When I left school I went to Australia for a year and worked in the drama department of a school in Perth.

I went further and further back through the centuries to get a sense of perspective but now at least I understand why Irish history evokes such strong passions and emotions.

I'm attracted to seeing how different I can be, pushing the boat out.

I, like many people, had some sort of preconception about Madonna. One of the preconceptions was that she had the extraordinary work ethic, which turned out to be absolutely true.

I've never done anything comedic. In all the years I've been an actor, I've never delivered one comedic line.

The reason I wanted to be an actor is that I don't want to play me for the rest of my life and make money out of that.

All directors on all sets behave slightly differently depending on what the scene is. For example, if you are doing a love scene, which is intimate then the director is likely to be intimate. If you are doing a scene where everyone is mucking around and laughing then the director is likely to start with that. If you are playing a scene which us incredibly heavy and everyone getting killed then there are probably not many laughs on the set.