Steven Berkoff

I have a daughter from a relationship I had in my late teens or early 20s. Because I felt it wasn't the kind of pukka behaviour my family or relatives would admit to, I denied it for many years.

My earliest memory is of my first day at primary school and the distress of seeing my mother part from me.And being in a room full of strangers - of aliens. I felt that I would never see her again.

In London, nobody comments on what you wear - they think that's not important to you or your state of well-being.

A knighthood would be a bit too much. An OBE or an MBE or whatever they are called, one of those would be more elegant.

The great actors we had came from the actor-manager theaters. Not only did they create a team, they were the generals working with the soldiers.

My first name used to be Leslie. I snipped that off and put my middle name, which was Steven, in the front.

The most vital part of your humanity is the love you have for others. To deny it is to deny your life.

Everyone remembers the bad guy long after they've seen the movie.

It's impossible to have a favourite Shakespeare, since so many of the plays rouse and inspire completely different parts of your being.

I enjoy being in movies, but my heart will always lie with the theatre.

I'm very resistant to most forms of theater.

That is the nature of the British psyche. It's very blunt, plain, very linear. It's pragmatic: it records life as it is.

I may be 80, but I intend to keep acting until the day I die. Instead of slowing down, I've discovered my second wind.

The theatre is your pulpit - it is your church - and you want to be a priest in your church, and that's what I believe in.

When I was young, I was shy.

I hardly ever see new plays. They don't have the audacity and daring that they used to.

A lot of praise is given to very mediocre work. Critics have lost their taste, hearing, and eyesight.

As a child, you only think of the now.

I like evil people.

I like a lot of international people. Julie Taymore, the American director - she's one of the most exciting directors I've seen.