The world would be a duller place without Moulin Rouge.

In today's politics, it would be good to have politicians who are more upfront about what they felt and actually not trying to bend with every breeze. They're infuriating, all of them.

The films I enjoy seeing are those that reveal lives I was unaware of... in different cultures or whatever.

You can't be angsty all day or else it becomes a sort of pale angst.

I think we all have a selfish gene which rises to the top, sometimes. But then we're also all capable of a sudden magnanimity.

I love French films, and European films. They're not any bigger, but there's just a sort of definition, and a confidence, and strength to them. I'd always, given the option, go and see a French drama. Obviously, we probably get the better ones. But they're just sophisticated on many levels, and grown up, and quite profound - and we don't make films like that.

I do always like to do things I haven't done before, so I'm always looking out for things in a different genre, or a different sort of character.