I've never had a desire to be famous. Lots of actors are actually extremely shy. I have shy areas.

As an actor, you ask yourself what you can do to put yourself in a position where you can play that role.

I never want to sort of put all the cards on the table all at once, because that's somehow there's always a journey to go on. There's always something to be revealed, in my mind, about characters.

I would have loved to have met some former spies, but they don't readily advertise themselves unless they're not living in Moscow, and even then. I'm sure I've met some without realizing it.

I've never had a desire to be famous. Lots of actors are actually extremely shy. I have shy areas.

The space and light up there in Norfolk is wonderfully peaceful. I find myself doing funny things like gardening, and cooking, which I rarely do in London.

Surely the job of fiction is to actually tell the truth. It's a paradox that's at the heart of any kind of storytelling.