“A lot of parents tell their children that if they want to be an actor, that's fine, but they should do something else first, so they've got something to fall back on. It doesn't work like that, as far as I'm concerned.”

“As a child I was taken to the pantomime or the theatre and I would always, always fall in love with somebody on the stage. And want to have sex with them.”

“At school there was no acting to be had other than school plays which I did now and again.”

“Conservative's the last thing I am.”

“For all of the hurtling towards climate change, there's also a lot more understanding of it than there was when we were kids. They don't call environmentalists tree huggers any more, so there's hope!”

“From there I did a one year theatre acting course in Fife, and then three years of drama school in London.”

“I certainly have no plans to leave London. It's a great town.”

“I don't do things lightly; I don't take a job then just phone it in - I've never done that.”

“I don't pay much attention to career or what other people think. I've always been quite arrogant.”

“I don't think having separate bathrooms is a key to a successful marriage, if you love one another.”

“I find that the acting's getting easier - with experience, everything is more instinctual.”

“I found my partner, my life partner, and I really am in love with my wife, and we have a lovely time, and we share a long history together and children together, and that's it.”

“I got married because I fell in love with this woman. I had a baby with her because we wanted to have children. But that's not because of some philosophical ideal at all, no.”

“I left halfway through my third year to start Lipstick On Your Collar, which was the first thing I ever did.”

“I left it for seven years before going back on stage. I know now not to leave it so long.”

“I like the idea of being a sculptor. Just me alone, making something - that solitary existence.”

“I like to dance, but it's not my weekend activity. I'm not a clubber.”

“I love acting and don't find it to be very hard. I recognize when I've nailed it, and I can be very proud of myself.”

“I never imagined it wouldn't work out for me. I had that absolute certainty in myself that has seen me through, I think, and my parents were absolutely behind me all the way.”

“I played music all through school and I kind of performed that way.”

“I really want to play Princess Leia. Stick some big pastries on my head. Now that would be interesting.”

“I remember in Shallow Grave I remember a few times when we'd only have to do one take. But when you did have to do more than one, you'd build on the one you'd done.”

“I think rehearsal can be important if it's done in a way that works. Often, rehearsal can be a waste of time.”

“I think the script is the key. Regardless of how great everybody else is working on a film, if you're working on a script that you don't think is great, you're not gonna be able to make a great film. Whereas if the script is great, then you can.”

“I want to wear skinny jeans when I'm in my 70s. Why not? Who cares?”

“I was born in '71, so I remember bits of glam rock on 'Top of the Pops' toward the late '70s, but I had no idea what kind of world it was. I didn't like the music, either.”

“I was nine years old when I made up my mind that that was what I definitely wanted to do.”

“If you're suddenly doing something you don't want to do for four years, just so you've got something to fall back on, by the time you come out you don't have that 16-year-old drive any more and you'll spend your life doing something you never wanted to do in the first place.”

“I'm fiercely proud to be Scottish.”

“I'm just into making quality stuff if I can, with interesting people and good scripts. But it's very important that it's about something and that it says something. Otherwise, I don't know what the point is, really.”

“I'm just looking for that moment to drop my Jedi knickers and pull out my real light saber.”

“I'm not a guy who takes films for strong political messages.”

“I'm sure it's not great fun for them, or for any parent, when their child says they want to be an actor, 'cos it's quite an uncertain business and it can be terribly hard for most actors.”

“It's important, that spirit of youth, and when you're 16 that can get you kickstarted.”

“It's not my job to try and alter the director's style - he's in charge, and I'll always give him my trust.”

“I've always been really uninterested in politicians and the acts of the Houses of Parliament, or government as an idea. But I'm interested in politics in that I'm a member of the world, and I have strong feelings of right and wrong, but I can't get into the ins and outs of it.”

“I've done nudity in lots of things before. It's something that's never particularly bothered me.”

“I've never been one who agonizes over my work.”

“I've never found acting that difficult.”

“I've played in pipe bands in Scotland, and I've always played guitars and drums and stuff.”

“Mainly I was able to perform with music - I played the French horn, I would sing, and I was a drummer in the pipe band. So I think it was a way to show off.”

“No, no I'm not, no, but I just think... when people are naked it tells you a lot about their relationships.”

“Once you've agreed the script, you must be willing to go as far as it needs to go on set.”

“Producing good stuff can be quite tough, and it involves a lot of frustration, but I always like things to be jolly and happy, and I forget that's actually not the point at the end of the day.”

“So, no, I'm not trying to crack into Hollywood, although I'll make films there if they're good scripts.”

“Success is tricky to deal with, both professionally and in your personal life.”

“The other two things are... well, I had a huge appetite for old black and white movies on BBC 2. At the weekends they used to run matinees, and the more romantic the better.”

“The script, I always believe, is the foundation of everything. And if you don't connect to that foundation, if you don't believe in that and feel that you wanna spend three, four months of your life exploring it, then all of the other elements are secondary.”

“The thing about parenting rules is there aren't any. That's what makes it so difficult.”

“Then I left school at 16 and worked in Perth Repertory Theatre, which was quite nearby where I lived. And I worked there for about six or seven months, as part of the stage crew.”

“Ultimately, you have to not worry about people thinking you should have played him differently. You're the one playing the part so it has to be yours.”

“You can be playing a line some way and the director wants you to change that, or you can disagree. But I always think that the creative conversation between director and actor is what leads to good work.”