Mike Leigh taught me about making choices - as an actor, you choose between being honest and clever, and with Mike, it's always about being honest. I….

It's a very fascinating thing for an actor to play somebody who is suffering, and you have to express the suffering, but in an inarticulate way and s….

I come from a place where there's violence and inarticulacy. I worked in a pub from the age of 12 or 13. I used to see people smashing glasses over e….

I wasn't one of the ones voted most likely to succeed when I was at drama school, but I persevered and concentrated on the acting rather than going t….

With a face like mine, I'm never going to play a character who conquers the universe, I'm going to play characters who are subject to forces bearing ….

I was brought up in a house full of women; the first time I realised no one was interrupting me was when I was on stage - that's probably the subcons….

I'd love to play a Bond villain. Yeah, I'd love to play a Bond villain. Everyone always says this to me; they always say, 'You've got to be a Bond vi….

I'm used to being in front of camera and knowing what to think. But if you're asking me to be me, I get very self-conscious. My job isn't to be me. B….

My business is not to show anybody anything; my job is just to do it..

I wanted to work with Bryan Singer because I like his films..

As a working-class actor, leaving school with no qualifications, being a printer and then becoming an actor and then working with people who to a cer….

The trick to acting is not to show off; it's to think the thoughts of the character. I was lucky because when I started acting, it was doing jobs abo….

I think one of the London Film Festival strengths is that it's set in London but it's not about London. It's about the diversity of this city and it'….

I used to do a lot of comedy. I don't know what happened. I think it's my face..

I'm the guy who plays human beings. I understand why the characters are doing what they're doing. When you play a villain, you don't play a villain: ….

There's no great mystery to acting. It's a very simple thing to do but you have to work hard at it. It's about asking questions and using your imagin….

My idea is just to do something different each time; the next thing I do has to be completely different to the thing I've done before - that's what I….

I have friends who are leading men, and they're only ever allowed to play leading men of a certain type. But as a character actor, there's a wider va….

I've never played a gay character on screen, so that would be interesting. I've never played a gay character, and that would fascinate me because I'm….

When you're the youngest and the only boy, you get spoilt but you get told you're spoilt so you don't get to enjoy it very much. I was the only man i….

What I love about the East End is that theres a great perseverance, determination and courage. What I dislike about it is that there is sometimes a c….