I find his films about as funny as getting an arrow through the neck and discovering there's a gas bill tied to it.

Look, if I'd wanted a lecture on the rights of man, I'd have gone to bed with Martin Luther.

This is sort of inflection-free acting [playing Maigret], and I really wasn't sure if I could do it - you make your mind up on whether I've succeeded or not. But yes, I found it difficult when we were shooting; it was a couple of weeks before I settled into not worrying - to finding a way of delivering those lines - so my worries of many months before I think had been justified. I found it a difficult way of being.

Mr. Bean is at his best when he is not using words, but I am equally at home in both verbal and nonverbal expression.

I love both [Johnny English and James Bond] actually. The action sequences are really exciting because you're getting to work with some brilliant crew and do some great stuff but you always get some magic when you're working with actors.

I would never be a television presenter. It's not something I could ever do.

Of course, some would say if you have a performing inclination, then you should become a lawyer. That's a platform we use, or a priest. You know, anywhere you lecture and pontificate to people.