I don’t want to be anything else other than what I am. I can say that with passion. No regrets...
I love life because what more is there?
I’ve reached a happy stage in my life – you can call it “happy” – but I have no expectations anymore. I’m glad I’m not young anymore.
Some nights you might go through an entire performance and not feel a thing, and the audience may have a much better time, ’cause if you’re enjoying yourself on stage too much, they’re having a terrible time because they can’t hear you. And if you’re a woman your mascara’s running.
I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had my problems in the past, I’ve had my troubles, but you move on. I had a great life and I am really thankful for it.
The movie industry is full of crazy people who think that they are god.
I’ve always liked American actors particularly. Because that was my first impression. I was very enamoured of America when I was a kid because we were surrounded by American soldiers during the war, the accent was very strange to me, it was very exotic and very captivating.
I’m married. My wife, Stella – a beautiful woman. She’s brought a lot of peace to my life, a lot of wisdom.
I don’t know what acting is, but I enjoy it.
I don’t have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don’t know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don’t know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don’t think you need all that stuff.
My father was grounded, a very meat-and-potatoes man. He was a baker.
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
We have a Boesendorfer piano that I play every day. It keeps my brain and my fingers active.
I could stay making nice safe BBC movies for the rest of my life, so I decided to risk it. It was a challenge, to work with Oliver Stone.
Ryan Gosling. He was a good kid, good actor. I like him very much. What was the name of the movie? I’ve forgotten it. Fracture.
What is so liberating about this whole business is when you see that big movies are going to come out and then you see them up in Malibu in the little triplex theatre a week later and you think, this is show business. This is the great movie career. And it’s all funded in the shoe box.
I’m composing and writing music.
We’re all caught up in circumstances, and we’re all good and evil. When you’re really hungry, for instance, you’ll do anything to survive. I think the most evil thing – well, maybe that’s too strong – but certainly a very evil thing is judgment, the sin of ignorance.
My father wasn’t a cruel man. And I loved him. But he was a pretty tough character. His own father was even tougher – one of those Victorians, hard as iron – but my dad was tough enough.
It’s such a pleasant surprise when you come on set and you find someone in charge like Ken Branagh or James Ivory. You know that you’re going to do a day’s work and at the end of it, it’s going to be good.