When you act, you've got to be like a poet or a musician. It's not about evidence before court. It's not a forensic subject. It's poetry; it's a completely different place.

Acting is a tough, difficult job with long unsociable hours, although it can be a brilliant job, too. I don't want to complain too much, as nurses, farmers and teachers are out working long hours.

I've done a lot of Shakespeare onstage, and I'm not convinced that the Earl of Oxford was the author of all those works, but I am convinced that the Stratfordian William Shakespeare was not. My feeling is that it was an amalgamation of many writers, in the same way that most films are a collaborative endeavor.

Shyness is invariably a suppression of something. It's almost a fear of what you're capable of.

I do find real life a bit overwhelming sometimes. I'm totally chaotic.

I'm a real magpie when it comes to music; it's all random, and there's no pattern to what I like.

There's two kinds of rock n' roll casualty: the one that has huge success and adoration, and then suddenly it stops. Or there's when you're in a band: it is all-consuming, so then you have the dream of that, and then the dream's taken away from you even before it happens.

More than any other super-hero, 'Spider-Man' presents us with something very local in its ethics. It's not messianic. It's far more tangible.

Very often, actors have to face being rejected time and again, and we must remember that the red carpet lasts just a minute.

I am not gadgety at all. It's not that I'm appalled by technology, but I've taken my time acquiring any of it.

My personal life is invented for me, so why bother?

In Wales, singing and storytelling are party skills, not professions.

Being on tour is a giggle.

There aren't many odysseys in cinema for characters.

In terms of partying and reckless abandon, I'm Don Juan. But, in terms of my heart, I'm the most loyal man you'll ever meet.

Film can become stagnant as a medium.

I'm Welsh. We didn't do 'Peter Pan.' We have far more ancient legends to be put to sleep with.

For me, 'Come and See' is, by a million miles, the best film about war that has ever been made. I would highly recommend, encourage and enforce anyone to watch it.

Don't be late. Learn your lines. Be good to people. Treat people nice.

It is joyous for any actor to enter other grounds of consciousness and thought. At the end of the day, we just all like dressing up and playing around.

When I was young, I was in a hurry to live. And now I'm just not in a hurry.

On a conventional film, you do one take, and if it's good, they say, 'Let's do another one for insurance.'

Every time the Tories get a bit of power, they rip off all the things I love... The mining industry. Milk.

I've worked with Hollywood stars, but the reason most of the Hollywood stars I've worked with are Hollywood stars is that they're excellent actors, so I've been very lucky.

People say: 'Oh, it's only acting,' but it's not ever just acting. At least not with me.

It's every boy's dream to play Captain Hook.

I'm a factory-floor actor: I learn the lines, I get there on time.

In a sense, I feel a lot more an outsider in Los Angeles than I did in Newfoundland.

Spider-Man is a school boy that's looking for his parents.

It's like a badge of honour if you're a British actor and you get the 'Harry Potter' call. It meant a lot to me.

I play really bad punk rock guitar.

I don't sit around with other actors and talk about the pain and the magic of acting.

I come from a culture where the pub is the centre of the community. The pub is the Internet. It's where information is gathered, collated and addressed.

The whole film genre is one of deceit. It is the suspension of disbelief. That's what all theater and all film is based on.

The majority of comic book villains are pure evil, but Curt Connors is an exception. Curt Connors is a good man who initially wants to save the world, but he gets hungry and greedy and reckless, and he pays the price for that.

My work is my way of expressing myself without being arrested.

You look at the Blur comeback, it was so smooth - so smooth - compared to The Verve.

Some people have a God because they need faith, and that's fair enough.

I probably suffered from a narcissistic disorder in some way.

If I was a painter, I would have hundreds of finished and unfinished canvases in my studio waiting for people to see, and it is the same with my music. I've got so many pieces of music and songs waiting to be heard.

My job is to make grown men cry, to blow people's minds and elevate them, make them transcend and unlock emotions that have been repressed by life, their job, situation - that's what I do.

The Grime guys have kind of rewritten the blueprint for people as far as creativity, songwriting, ownership, doing your own videos... So they're sending out a real positive message I think to people, that you can do it yourself in a punk way, and you can still potentially be successful and get to people.

George Best was my idol. I got a chance to meet him once.

Life's about ego. So for someone to talk about my ego, as they are writing their piece about my ego, I'm wondering what they're doing with their ego?

I'm not one of those freaks who can't see anything past 1977.

We all have our daily prescription of yoga, football, religion, or whatever gets us through that day. My thing is music. It's the only thing that gives me a sense of calm and balance. It's the thing I know I'm good at.

Pop music might seem banal and simple to some people, but it's what it expresses that counts.

Just because something's kinda indie and whatever and only a few people know it, it doesn't give it more authenticity over Rihanna's 'Work' work work.

When you go onstage, the process of getting you from the dressing room to the stage is all about ego.

Other kids would be playing with their Action Man, and I was questioning life and society.