What attracted me to acting was the idea that I could continually learn in a profession that's very challenging. As an individual, you're asked to use your imagination, to experience different periods, psychologies, physical forms, in order to tell stories to an audience, and that's a privilege, to be honest with you, to do that as a living.

 

 

What drives me is having a challenge and meeting that challenge in a way that will hopefully make my peers, my family and my friends proud. Part of it is a thrill seeking as well, although I think you're in a lot of danger if you just become an adrenaline junkie but you need stability, you need stamina, and you need to be able to keep your perspective and feel grounded and secure in what you're doing as an actor.

 

 

The feeling when I first got the Jag' to drive was, "Christ, how do I fit with this? It's a real beast." But the minute you get into the car, you realise that everything is tailored for an extraordinary driving experience. And then you turn the thing on properly, and it's like bringing an animal to life. The roar of that engine is truly beautiful, I mean it's a fine, fine bit of craftsmanship and that never fails to sort of impress you. The acceleration is dreamlike, so is the handling so you feel secure with it. Everything is done with the driver in mind.

 

 

Being in front of an audience makes me feel alive. Being with friends makes me feel alive. I've done some crazy stuff in my time, and yet I can feel infinitely alive curled up on a sofa reading a book. So what makes me feel alive? I guess it's realising I'm part of the world around me.