That's the trouble with the suburbs: it's not a city, so you're not anonymous, and it's not a small town, so that people really care about you, but e….

The life of an actor is very random. It can be exhilarating but terrifying - you do wonder day to day where the next job will come from. Some of my f….

I sometimes think it's like a weird elastic band. The more tragic your work is, the quicker you snap back. There's a catharsis in telling a miserable….

I just would like to keep going. If I kept getting the kind of work that I've been getting for the last 20 years for the next 20, I'd be a bloody Dam….

Nothing is more diminishing than trying to control success or hold on to things..

I only went along to youth theatre with a friend when I was young to try to make myself a bit more sociable. But the whole thing was quite sore; it r….

I'm a right pain in the hole for my agent. I won't take certain parts if I think they're offensive or banal. For instance, I won't do a film if I thi….

I was quite shy. I used to write stories all the time, and I think that was a worry for my parents..

I'm not a great beauty. That's not me..

I admire people who overcome obstacles or who have to commit - I've always really admired commitment, whether it be a commitment to living or a commi….

People can be a bit flagrant when they're having an affair. Most of the time, there's an element of it where they want to be discovered because they'….

I was very lucky in that my parents were very broad-minded. Because they had come from another country and hadn't been able to fulfill their dreams, ….

There are people out there with three jobs and small children. Being an actor is a walk in the park compared to working as a cleaner overnight. I'm l….

People at a point of conflict are always the most interesting stories to tell..

For actors, being successful is generally getting a job. If you can work a lot, you're really successful. If you work a lot on projects that are inte….

You can't worry too much about profile; otherwise, you become a different kind of actor, and that's not the kind of actor I want to be..

You just grow up and learn to think instead of just feel..

When I started drama school, theatre was the main draw. I never had any movie star notions. Not that there were family ties to the theatre, either..

Any kind of conflict draws me to a role..

You want to have enough of a profile to be able to do all the work you can, but at the same time you want to have your own space. But there are a lot….

That's the thing - you do a job like 'Shameless,' and suddenly that's why you can get a job like 'The Virgin Queen', not because of all the classical….