I think love can be really tough. Because it involves ultimately an honesty to the nth degree that you are capable of. Once said, you've lost your deposit. It's best if you don't say it.

If I'm doing a play, 30 to 40 percent of the people that come to the stage door have pictures of 'Alien' for me to autograph. And usually, the photos are pretty gory ones.

Everyone I've ever played has been flawed.

I'm not interested in awards. I never have been. I don't think they are important. Don't get me wrong, if somebody gives me a prize, I thank them as gratefully as I know how, because it's very nice to be given a prize. But I don't think that awards ought to be sought.

To me, nothing ever feels like a sure thing. I cling to that because it's very important you don't ever think anything is a sure thing.

The first thing you have to get used to in any kind of acting is the ability to make a fool of yourself. If you haven't learnt how to make a fool of yourself, you shouldn't be on the boards. That's absolutely what it's all about.

Acting is an imaginative leap, really, isn't it? And imaginations prosper in different circumstances.

Everybody's got to work with Roger Corman. You can't leave out that experience.

I've done a couple of conferences where you sit and sign autographs for people, and then you have photographs taken with them and a lot of them all dressed up in alien suits or 'Doctor Who' whatevers. I was terrified of doing it because I thought they'd all be loonies, but they are absolutely, totally charming as anything. It's great fun.

I'd love to be one of those people who, whenever you see them, you feel pleased.

My surname certainly suggests a man whose destiny has always been injury.

The English National Opera does have some terrific productions, which are accessible, and they're not too ridiculously expensive.

I'm fascinated by the business of belief, obviously, because it's so ever present with humanity anyway. And, you know, when you have science, which constantly talks of proofs, you have religion, which constantly talks of beliefs and faith and so on.

I never quite understand why we watch the news. There doesn't really seem much point watching somebody tell you what the news is when you could quite easily listen to it on the radio.

Early on, I didn't intend to have children. I thought it was too difficult a world for them. But then it happened, and I am thrilled to have them now.

I knew I wanted to act from a very young age - from about nine, really - but I didn't know how to go about it. I had no idea. The world was a much bigger place then.

My parents felt that acting was far too insecure. Don't ask me what made them think that painting would be more secure.

I love the uilleann pipes and listen to Ronan Browne who's an uilleann piper.

I've done all sorts of children's things before, but none as big as 'Harry Potter.'

Essentially, I am an actor for hire. I am not a rarified creature. I do all these different things, and they all interest me.

I didn't want to teach. I wanted to act. It was quite a long and difficult road to get there but very thrilling when I did.

Where humanity is going to find itself in, say, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years would be very difficult to predict, I think. There are moments, of course, when you think that it's going from bad to worse, but there are other moments when you think that human efforts are really flowering into something really fantastic.

I'm somewhat old-fashioned, and I still talk about playing a part. I don't talk about my work - 'I've seen some of your work' - there's not much work in it, is there?

Really, I'm only alive out of curiosity. I'm very curious about where we're all marching.