They called me 'Mr. Average' in school.

My thing is, I've yet to meet a well person. The spectrum is unbelievably wide, the triggers for depression and manic depression.

Of course, fatherhood fundamentally changes a lot of your life, but it enriches you, too.

We'd lie on the floor, turn the lights out, put two speakers on either side of our ears, and try to blow our minds with music. I know that I want to make a record that does that yet a record that, if it was played on the radio at twelve in the afternoon, the guy making the wall - the guy cleaning the motorway - he's got a melody to hang on.

I'm totally up for experimental music. I'm up for music that they don't play on the radio, and I take in all of it. But my thing, the thing that comes most natural to me, is making the stuff that has a melody; it has a soul to it, yet it's head music.

I lost a good friend a few years ago, and it happened quite suddenly. Any event like that leaves you with questions. Would a phone call have made a difference? Did the person know that you were there for them?

If you start shaping everything you do trying to be in step with whatever is going on in the world, you're often out of step by the time people hear it. It's a bit like fashion.

Sometimes, you're before your time with ideas, and you have to accept that you can't know.

Not many people come out of a big band as the lead singer/songwriter and making a record, and all of a sudden we're all happily sailing at the same pace as we were before.

With 'Break The Night,' each verse is saying, 'Nothing's going right today; nothing ever does.' It's about that kind of repetition, it's that kind of mantra you can get in your mind when you're depressed or down, when it's become like a hamster on a wheel - it's very difficult to break.

I've got kids now; it changes you radically.

I've never written a 'Revolver' or a 'Pet Sounds.'

You can radically change a person's life with a tune. I don't think people truly understand or appreciate how powerful that is.

I think I was born to be a songwriter.

I'm not driven by fame or success. I'm quite a shy, introverted person, and I could easily melt away into the background.

Creativity, for me, is almost like therapy; my songs take you into the underbelly of my mind, and there's some dark stuff in there.

Life is about unforgettable and transcendent moments, isn't it? The point of music is to get the moment.

Criticism is beyond your control and is a collective group of people deciding things about you that may or may not be true. Some critics look for more when there's no need to. They have a dotto-dot picture of me they are intent on filling in.

You can find the greatest sound of all time, and someone's going to squash it down to a tiny little earphone anyway or play it through the computer, and that is a big thing people have to think about now.

What happened in the '70s was albums and concerts began making a hell of a lot more money, and then the suits got involved.

I've got a letter from the Dalai Lama at home.

I'd definitely say I'm a depressive, someone who suffers from depression.

Without music and creativity, I'd need other forms of therapy. But for me, the life process is the process of healing yourself. 'Break the Night' is about offering hope to people, about breaking through the darkness.

When I read about Gram Parsons' dream of this Cosmic American Music when I was in my late teens, that stuck with me: that idea, that ambition, to draw off the roots of music but take it somewhere fresh.

Really, I listen to more hip hop probably than most other things. That's where I get a lot of my influence from because it's so eclectic. So that's what I love.

You have to build yourself up a bit. You have to believe in yourself, because not that many other people will, you know?

We're the most talented musical island ever.

I was always going to be vulnerable when I left the Verve. It was a hardening experience for me. People saw me stripped down and decided to have their shot. I suppose they wanted to take me down a peg.

I am a family man, and I have children.

I'm a strong person, but every man has his limits.

The most sacred thing you can get is time. That's all people want on their death bed; that's what it's all about.

The greatest footballers take the sport into the world of art, of performance.

There's lots of people I'd love to work with.

The mad thing is, most of my life, when I'm not in a dark mood, it's been humour that's got me through. The only way to get through this business is by laughing.

I am so lucky that I have been part of and written songs that will always resonate no matter how old they get.

Ed Sheeran? I don't like the fact he gets a lot of stick. I like the fact he works hard, and God knows how much money he pays to the tax man each year.

I've never been that cute kid that was forgiven for being naughty.

A full beard looks cool.

I can't bear shopping. I can choose clothes for my characters, but not for myself. I've got no dress sense. Or I've lost it.

My mum will not speak above a low whisper in public because she doesn't want to draw attention to herself.

Trying to please everyone can be very hard, but, like 'Shrek' or 'The Simpsons,' 'Robin Hood' manages to entertain adults and children at the same time, but in different ways.

I wouldn't want a tattoo at all. They're difficult to cover up.

I suppose I'm a bit mean. My face on camera doesn't lend itself to happy nice guys. I think it's just that my bone structure looks menacing.

I feel like my imagination was crafted by Tolkien. He seemed to tap into that childhood intrigue of secret doors and hidden worlds.

I went into musical theatre, which I'm not really cut out for - I'm not as skilled at it as other people.

Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.

Since real spies are so good, you never really know what actual spying is. But I do think spying is a lot more dangerous than we are led to believe.

I have a bit of pride, which is always my downfall.

Some of the mail I've had has been weird. When I played Guy of Gisborne, a woman crocheted a mini-version of me.

It's bloody annoying being shy. I'll spend a whole evening at a party asking everyone else about themselves. I'm not being self-deprecating; it's because I'm too shy to talk about myself. So people come away from the evening actually having learnt nothing about me.