I'm struck by how laughter connects you with people. It's almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you're just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.

I'm always meeting new people, and my list of friends seems to change quite a bit.

If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth.

But then acting is all about faking. We're all very good at faking things that we have no competence with.

I think it takes a long time, as you get older, to realize just how crazy the world is, just how ridiculous it all is.

It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.

I was very sad to hear of the death of Ronnie Barker, who was such a warm, friendly and encouraging presence to have when I started in television. He was also a great comic actor to learn from.