I felt alive when I read a script and acted out a scene, or sang a song. It was my dream. I'm just very lucky that I'm still doing it and able to earn a living from it.

When I left school, I got a job in a shoe shop and I used to save 15 quid a week and pay for my own singing and acting lessons.

When I was playing Dracula I had to switch off from the reality and fall into this fantasy world. Otherwise I just couldn't cope with what I was doing. It's about switching off. It is about trying to flick a switch, which you have to do.

Each form of the acting is different. I think it keeps your mind active. TV, film and theater are different disciplines, as are independent films, opposed to studio films. There are differences in the size and the genre, or a period drama as opposed to a contemporary drama, or the types of characters.

If you work with amazing actors, you've got a master class happening in front of you. But [also] it's just acting at the end of the day.

When you're working, you're flying on someone else's buck. When you're flying on your own, you sort of go, 'You know what, I'd rather keep the dosh in my pocket to spend when I get there.

There's always a connection to be made whether you're playing a psychopath or whatever. It doesn't really matter; you've got to find this thing that you relate to with each character otherwise you're missing something.