Denis Lawson

Ewan was auditioning to get into acting college and asked me for advice as he wasn't connecting with the piece he was learning. I told him to think about a time he'd been beaten up in Glasgow and how he felt when the guy had punched him for no reason. He then made the connection between emotion and the words he was saying, which is what acting is.

When I was a young actor and working in London, I would pop home to see my sister, and Ewan would always be intrigued about what I'd been doing. I think he found my shoulder-length hair and pink, flared jeans glamorous, which they were anything but.