I like connecting with people, and that's what good art is, a point of connection. There's nothing better, on stage or on film, than feeling like you've achieved that.

You don't come to see a Greek play and not want blood and gore and depth of feeling from your boots up.

I like connecting with people, and that's what good art is, a point of connection. There's nothing better, on stage or on film, than feeling like you've achieved that.

Ninety percent of my roles, I've had to fight for. It's only a really small percentage of people who get handed roles. But that can be quite scary. The good thing about auditioning is that you get to test yourself and see if you can play this character - you're also auditioning yourself. I enjoy seeing what the chemistry is between the people you might be working with.

I am not hugely famous; I am not a name. For me, it's not the size of the role, it's the material and the people you are working with.

I've gone into auditions and I think they have an assumption about me when they see my photo and then I open my mouth and they say, 'Where exactly are you from? And you were born in Ethiopia? But you're Irish, but you also kind of sound English. That's really strange.' They want to put you in a box in LA, that's how they tend to do it there, so if you don't fit in that box, it makes it more difficult.

When you work with directors who really love actors, who love their contribution, it feels amazing. But sometimes when you work with directors, you feel like youre in the way.