Acting has been gentrified. It's become part of the bourgeoisie. But there was a time when it would be a great scandal if you announced you were going to be an actor.

As a fortysomething actor, you reach a plateau of maturity from which you can really get stuck in.

I'm more enthusiastic and excited about work than ever. I know now what I'm about.

Actors have a magic gene within them - I think they're the finest descendants of rogues and vagabonds - and it's all too easily forgotten what the acting legacy is.

If you watch Olivier's interviews, he has this reptilian tongue; it seems too big for his mouth. My pursuit of that became distracting, so I let it go. The thrill was finding the right pair of glasses.

I subscribe to that school of thespian - to be a wandering minstrel or traveling player, a thing of rags and patches, of ballads, songs and snatches.

When I take my kids to the zoo in Los Angeles, they always look the longest at the creature that moves the least - especially those in the reptile house. I asked myself: 'Who are the people that are pretty cool but also very still and monotone in their expression?' and I thought of Jose Mourinho.