What's exciting is there's a curtain that divides the audience from this other world. You want to see behind.

I wouldn't want to leave it so long before doing a play again, I get very stolid and sluggish if I do too much telly.

No one will guide you in the right direction, in the end you have to learn for yourself. You have to grow up yourself.

I did four or five years in telly, and by the end of it was drained. I was a bit sick of myself. I didn't feel like an actor anymore. That sounds silly, but when you're doing a play you're using different muscles, and it blew all the cobwebs away.

I think it sits quite happily with me, the condition of being an actor. I see some people getting quite eaten up with it, with the insecurities. There are times when I long for continuity and stability, but I also love the idea of not knowing what I'll be doing next - or even if I'm going to work.

I don't feel like a romantic lead; I guess I feel more like a character actor.

I would hate not to do a play every couple of years. I think it's not me.