People say 'follow in the footsteps' but I always find that a strange expression because what you want to do is forge your own path, so to speak.

Kindness and a generous spirit go a long way. And a sense of humor. It's like medicine - very healing.

It's a mistake to dwell too much on the consequences of a piece of work that you're making.

The actors I respect are the ones who see it as a career and manage to live reasonably normal lives, like Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Well, I couldn't spell my name until I was eight - my second name. I was so dyslexic. Max I could do. Irons, nope.

I guess if everything went tits up, having no work whatsoever, obviously you have to do something else. At the moment I don't see myself quitting, but I'm open minded about it.

Once you become the story off-screen, you are less likely to be the onscreen one.