“The role of an actor is to make every character believable.”

I crave working on those small independent movies because I love going to see those myself.

A big part of what I wanted to do with this character was go from when I was a boy and try and develop into a man, really try and play him as a man who is on this search, on a journey of personal, spiritual, political, social discovery.

Failure is simply the non-presence of success. But a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.

I’m trying to mix the cool, independent stuff with the big stuff, but it’s been difficult finding the right roles. It’s been an interesting ride as far as my career pendulum is concerned

I trained for three years at drama school to be an actor – not a celebrity.

I’m always amazed at anyone’s interest in what I have to say.

I’m probably a good boyfriend, but I’m pretty intense. When you’re with me it’s exciting, fun and very intense. At the same time, I’m easy going. But all that depends on what girl I’m with.

The thing about fame, is you never think it’s going to happen to you. So when it does, it’s sort of a shock. Some people are just better at it than others.

Creativity is the key for any child with dyslexia, or for anyone for that matter. Then you can think outside of the box. Teach them anything is attainable. Let them run with what you see is whatever they need to run with.

I did send a girl a plane ticket asking her for a visit, I guess that’s quite romantic.

I feel really privileged to be an actor, to be paid to do something I love.

If life isn’t about human beings and living in harmony, then I don’t know what it’s about.

When I was nine, I had this girlfriend and we used to have running races in the park. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her.

Whatever happens in life is fine – just trust in that.

I got to work with one of my heroes, Johnny Depp, and to see how he goes about business, which was really inspiring for me at this stage in my career.

Everything you know, all the things that you thought were important, drift into the background. And even things that were important really come to the fore and he’s one of them.

I’m not a method actor; I hope you know that!

An actor should never be larger than the film he’s in.

As an actor, my attitude towards using of film versus digital is, if you have film, filmmakers have to cut eventually so you don’t have to learn all that dialogue. With digital, they can just go on forever and it’s a nightmare. So, I like film – nice short takes.

Art is something to be proud of. Art is no compromise. As an actor, you’re giving it up, you’re at the mercy of so many other people.

The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.

Change is vital to any actor. If you keep playing lead after lead, you’re really gonna dry up. Because all those vehicles wean you away from the truths of human behaviour.

Wanting to be a good actor is not good enough. You must want to be a great actor. You just have to have that.

Being misunderstood is not a bad thing as an actor. I know the truth.