I've never been good at accepting jobs six months down the line. I can't do it. If I'm thinking about this, I can't think about that. So I always seem to fly by the seat of my pants.

I never go anywhere without my iPod.

I don't want to be a luvvie actor. It took a long time for me to accept I was an actor, a professional actor, and that, actually, I make a living out of this.

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am a very patriotic guy, in terms of my Scottishness and my roots.

The more people know about an actor the less convincing they become. A bit of mystery's a good thing.

I often have scripts sent to me with allegedly Scottish characters where I end up telling them, 'You're going to have to rethink this whole thing!

I'd love to do a Columbo-type detective character in a series.