"I mean I think children love the idea that there are different viewpoints and different words for th..." — Samuel West

When you are in a bad production there are two things you can do. You can do your best or you can leave. I chose to do the third thing which was sulk.

I did start reading quite young but I was always read to by my parents, who are both actors. Bedtime stories from when I was about two/three to when I was about 15. In fact they didn't stop until I eventually kind of kicked them out of my bedroom.

My one remaining professional ambition is to read the shipping forecast. I live in hope.

If you play a part that's been done before, on stage for instance, you feel like you're carrying a torch and staggering under the weight of it for a bit and then passing it on to somebody else.