I'm still a proud Irishman, of course, but I've become an American citizen. I'm very, very proud of that.

I try to be a hard boiled sometimes. My kids see right through it. I'm acting. It's always, 'When I say you'll be back at 11, that means 11, not 11.15. Do you hear me!?' Then, 'Yeah, Dad.'

I do shadow boxing and use a heavy bag, but I don't spar with anyone.

It's an extraordinary thing, this tiny little province of Northern Ireland, where carnage happened. And I was part of it. I grew up in it.

But, you know, there's still an argument, there's still ten states that outlaw premarital sex, and many more states where adultery is still outlawed and a crime.

The putting on of vestments and lighting candles, it's a wonderful ritual that never changes from one Mass to another.

It's interesting, the more successful you become the more people want to give you stuff for nothing.

Sitting down to eat in our house is about sharing, you know, talking about the day you've had, be it in school or work or whatever, so that's very important to us.

To be honest, I'm scared to death of rollercoaster rides.

I always wanted to be a cowboy, and Jedi Knights are basically cowboys in space, right?

I'm so touched that complete strangers will send me a script asking me to be in their film. That still amazes me - and sometimes for a lot of money too.

I was an OK boxer, I wasn't great, I was OK, but I loved the discipline of getting together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, usually Saturday afternoons too, with a whole bunch of mates and training, very, very hard for about two-and-half hours.

I never thought about becoming a professional singer, but I am in touch with Bono about releasing a musical movie. It will be about an Irish band during the '70s who are looking for fortune in Las Vegas. I should play the singer of the band but I don't want to sing in front of anybody.

Hollywood is throwing action movies at me.

At the Sex Institute in Bloomington, Indiana, they were a phenomenal help, too. We went out there for a few days, and they gave us access to materials. And the biographies, there are four or five, ranging from very poor to excellent.

I'm not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.

And the Institute sent me a little film footage of Kinsey himself preparing to do an interview for television to talk about his work, so that was quite valuable for me.

The Irish Catholic side was married to the life of an actor and I found out acting could be a form of prayer.

In bed at night, I could be reading some book, and I'll come across a sentence that's totally unrelated to some scene I did years ago. But I'll play the scene back in my mind and think, I did that wrong - I should've opened the door more slowly.

I don't think that I am a sex symbol, although it's very flattering.

I have friends who have daughters and there's times I think I'm glad I have boys instead of girls.

I gravitate toward women.

Acting is invigorating. But I don't analyse it too much. It's like a dog smelling where it's going to do its toilet in the morning.

In Los Angeles, it's like they jog for two hours a day and then they think they're morally right. That's when you want to choke people, you know?

But, you know, sex is controversial, it just is and it always will be.

Getting married and settling down isn't the most important thing in my life.

I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.

It's extraordinary to look into a baby's face and see a piece of your flesh and your spirit. It makes you realize you are a part of the human race.

Well, from an acting point of view, I bear no relation, I don't look like Alfred Kinsey at all, but I thought somewhere in my artist's soul, my actor's soul, I could capture something of the spirit of the man.

Well, I think I've made 44 films and only like four times I've played real characters I'm just drawn to people who have a pioneer spirit, this extraordinary energy and commitment to their cause.

I don't know if I'm a strict parent or a pushover.

Rihanna is a very talented person. One of those people who are able to do whatever they want with great results.

I will never become a director or a movie producer. I was always looking at picture directing because I didn't know what to do! You can't be a movie director without real preparation.

Why would anyone ever tell anything personal to a journalist?

I get fed up with plots that are driven by someone constantly getting information on a computer.

If I get rejected for a part, I pick myself up and say, 'OK, not today, maybe tomorrow I'll get this other part or something.'

I have often found that no matter where I meet people in the world, there is a path that leads back to Queen's.

Queen's University flies the flag for the arts in Northern Ireland and beyond.

I have to make it my job to be careful with my family.

I came to water late. I learned to swim at the age of 20.

I keep fit as much as I can.

I don't think I'm funny.

Looking out for your children is an ongoing process throughout your life.

You think your life is going one way and then suddenly, you're on another track.

Before 'Schindler's List,' I wouldn't have believed movies had a lot of power for social change.

It's best to keep acting real.

I can always act.

I've never been in a street fight.

You can't act being a boxer. It's like being on stage.

I certainly notice the vitality in Belfast, which wasn't there in the Seventies. There was a war going on then. Now there are cranes everywhere. There really is a sense of renewal and hope.