I came to Los Angeles and did auditions for television. I made a terrible mess of most of them and I was quite intimidated. I felt very embarrassed and went back to London. I got British television jobs intermittently between the ages of 23 and 27, but it was very patchy.

If there's friends around, I'll cook. Or if I have a girlfriend. But on my own I kind of fell out of the habit of it, and it's a shame really because I know it's good for me. It's something quite therapeutic.

When I go the cinema, unfortunately nowadays, especially with the big commercial films, the audience is spoon-fed through the entire experience and they don't have to do any work.

I could never swim in the ocean after seeing Jaws.

The arts are very alive in Ireland, so that had its influence on me. But I consider myself European, really.

Even if I'm playing a superhero, it has to be steeped in reality.

I might have been curious about actors' lives when I was growing up. That's human nature.