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" I just hate the idea of being well known. I know that is almost impossible if you're an actor who has done okay, but I've always fought against it. "

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" A child did approach me in a restaurant in Cornwall, but he thought I was Gandalf. "

" There were certainly no spells at my school. More like a smack in the mouth. "

" I fell in love with Alan Ayckbourn the day I met him and, starting with 'The Norman Conquests,' went on to do eight plays with him. He tells you just what you want to know and has a brilliant way of solving problems. "

" My only memories of school are of being beaten, of being hit in the playground, of masters poking their fingers in my chest all day. "

" I promise myself that I would go and do a play every year. "

" I'm very flower-like. I love classical music. I go to ballet and I cry. There's nothing so beautiful. "

" I sometimes think the theatre is more demanding because it requires things you don't have in films, like it requires you to make the people in the front row believe you and not look an idiot to them while the people right at the back can hear you. "

" Paul Schofield said something like, 'If I'm not acting in a play, I don't really exist.' Those weren't the exact words, but he meant it's only when I'm acting in a play that I've got something to say about the world. And then why should I talk, when people can come to see it? "

" I'd love to be a comedian. I've done a lot, but always in the confines of plays. "

" When I was doing 'Tales from Hollywood' at the National, I was invited to dinner by the choreographer, Kenneth MacMillan. He told me I had the heart of a dancer and asked me if I'd like to come on at the end of 'Romeo and Juliet' as a friar. I said I'd love to, but sadly, MacMillan died shortly after. "

" I like causing trouble. It's the teddy boy in me. I used to be a teddy boy. Feeling slightly inferior and wanting to cause a bit of bother and get some action going on in the room rather than get bored stiff. Does that make sense? "

" I can't remember any of the films I've done. You go from one to another, and they all blend in to a big mass. You remember the costumes because you remember how you felt - that Western I did with Kevin Costner where I wore the big hat and the two guns, I remember that. "

" There's no subtext in 'Harry Potter,' really; it's all magic - anything can happen. Why do I say this? Because it's a magic spell. It's quite nice in a way. There is a real freedom to it. Doesn't say much for acting, does it? "

" I have been in five Harry Potter films and never read a 'Harry Potter' book. If you are an actor, all you have is the script you are given. If you read the book, you might get disappointed about what's been left out. "

" Television has dried up for my generation, so it's plays and films. "

" I live in fear of being a contented passenger. I'd rather get parts I can't play. "

" The theatre starts every night at half past seven, and I like the rhythm of going to the theatre, parking the car, going to the stage door; I've grown up with all of that. I'd love to do more theatre - I mean, I shouldn't be telling the world that I can't remember lines any more, but I find it more and more difficult, so I don't know. "

" Maybe that is why kids like Dumbledore: because he is funny rather than a miserable old sod with a long white beard. "

" Certainly, I seem to need to do a play a year. I feel wrong if I haven't got one planned. "

" I've had a private pilot's license for years and flown all round the U.K. and over to France. "

" There were no spells at my school, just a smack in the mouth. "

" All actors say they're concerned about the state of the theatre, but what they're really concerned about is that there'll be less work around. "

" I'm an anorak. I've always been an obsessive collector of things. Richard Briers collects stamps. I collect cars and guns, which are much more expensive, and much more difficult to store. "

" Oh yeah, I'd love to be a comedian. I've done a lot, but always in the confines of plays. "

" I don't play classical guitar. But I do in my mind. I've got it on a stand. "

" I've always tried to be an actor who... I just plod on and try to keep my mouth shut, mind my own business. I find the whole thing about people's lives... I can't understand it. I'm always astonished that people want to know anything about me. "

" People should be shrouded in mystery. Especially actors. No, hang on, maybe actors should be blown up. "

" I find it difficult to remember lines. When I'm doing a long speech for television, I sometimes have an earpiece with someone feeding me the text. But I can get by in the theatre if I study hard for a couple of months. "

" I want to be good all the time, so I feel anxious. But if you weren't like that, you'd be dead, wouldn't you? If you went out happy down the road, la la la. I've never been like that. I don't want to be. "

" Every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. No real character actor, of course, just me. "