I'm in four different films this year, and I have four different accents. I sound different in every film. You have to love a character to play it well, and change in my work is what I want.

A lot of the characters I play have problems, they are marginalised, they have serious psychological problems, problems with relationships, with childhood. These are big subjects, big subjects. You can't balk at work like that. As an actor, that's as good as it gets.

A lot of Scots have settled in Canada over the years and it's a very easy place for Scots - they understand us, we understand them.

I've really enjoyed my work in television, but the problem for me is the turnover of directors every week.

Acting is probably the greatest therapy in the world. You can get a lot stuff out of you on the set so you don't have to take it home with you at night. It's the stuff between the lines, the empty space between those lines which is interesting.

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

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