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

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.

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.

I'm rather proud of having been a trainspotter.

Of course 'Hamlet' is a debate about the nature and morality of revenge and whether it is right to do something to assuage your angry feelings.

I am a coward, basically, but one of the things about acting is that you are always putting yourself through yet another test.

Most actors are socialists, aren't they?