I like people like Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins. And Gianfranco Zola, who played for Chelsea and Italy. He's an artist with his feet.

It's never gone so far as me wishing I'd never done 'Quadrophenia,' but there was a time when I wouldn't talk about it because I wanted people to be interested in me for other things as well.

Being a part-time pop star was perfect, really, when I wasn't worn out by the partying.

My acting career began when I walked into a drama school class run by Anna Scher in Islington. Anna discovered a lot of people: Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke, Gary and Martin Kemp, and Dexter Fletcher were among my contemporaries.

My heart's in stage. Making Quadrophenia was exciting because we were riding around on scooters with no crash helmets. But "hurry up and wait" is the anthem of films. Everybody wants you ready, and then you sit doing nothing.

I don't miss EastEnders. I did a two-stretch. That was enough.

In my game, you get brokenhearted a bit. You do a play, get a bad review in the papers... actors are sensitive; you think of all the work you've done, and it breaks your heart, but you learn to shrug it off and to carry on.