Ian McShane

Theater is a dance of a different kind, a dance of rawness and characters stripped down.

Bosses will tell you they are looking for something different but they're not, actually.

When you've done a show that's as successful as 'Lovejoy' was, it hangs around for a few years, and people know you from it. I escaped the shadow when I stopped 'Lovejoy' by not doing any television for four years.

Mum and Dad were both happy for me to do what I wanted.

Do you follow American politics? They hate Obama. Hate him. He's a black man. That's what it is: it's racist. This guy is no bleeding-heart liberal. He's a centrist.

I enjoy every role I do.

My dad was a football player - a soccer player - for Manchester United, and I loved playing football, but I also happened to be the guy in class who was pretty good at sight reading. My teacher gave me scripts, and I was very comfortable.

I mean, I'm an actor. I do what comes along.

Acting's boring.

Acting is great therapy - you get to do things you'd normally get arrested for.

I think the reason 'Sexy Beast' was so good was it wasn't just another run-of-the-mill gangster film; it was a love story.

My second marriage was to a girl I met in Manchester, kept a long-distance relationship going for two years, then we got married... disaster.