A child did approach me in a restaurant in Cornwall, but he thought I was Gandalf.

I'm an anorak. I've always been an obsessive collector of things. Richard Briers collects stamps. I collect cars and guns, which are much more expensive, and much more difficult to store.

Every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. No real character actor, of course, just me.

I belong to quite a lot of learned societies. We collect firearms and discuss them at dinners and clubs and things.

A child did approach me in a restaurant in Cornwall, but he thought I was Gandalf.

I just hate the idea of being well known. I know that is almost impossible if you're an actor who has done okay, but I've always fought against it.

Paul Schofield said something like, 'If I'm not acting in a play, I don't really exist.' Those weren't the exact words, but he meant it's only when I'm acting in a play that I've got something to say about the world. And then why should I talk, when people can come to see it?