It would've been hard to do something else, to as it were, run away from the circus and become an accountant.

Books don't exist unless you read them. And it's a two way process - you write the book as you read it and you fill in the gaps. You discover it and you put the marks together and without you doing it they're just marks.

It would've been hard to do something else, to as it were, run away from the circus and become an accountant.

The idea that if you are very clever you shouldn't be an actor would be laughable in Russia.

I did start reading quite young but I was always read to by my parents, who are both actors. Bedtime stories from when I was about two/three to when I was about 15. In fact they didn't stop until I eventually kind of kicked them out of my bedroom.

At heart, this job is about continuing to make great theatre for the people of Sheffield - a city I've known and loved since childhood.

When you are in a bad production there are two things you can do. You can do your best or you can leave. I chose to do the third thing which was sulk.