David Harewood

If you're black and have leukemia, the chances of finding a donor are drastically reduced. I added my name to the register, and lo and behold, six months later, I was asked to donate. I had a week of 'conditioning' where I had to take these pills and injections to create new stem cells in my body.

Fatherhood is a joy. I feel very lucky to have a family. It gives you a perspective on things.

Back in 2005, the Anthony Nolan Trust could have asked me just to speak out about the lack of ethnic minority donors on the bone marrow register, but that would have meant nothing if I wasn't prepared to join up myself.

As an ambassador for the aid agency Cafod and the Anthony Nolan Trust, I need to be sure that my public support for those charities is a help for their work, not a hindrance.

We live in a world of strange priorities, where Kim Kardashian buying a Lamborghini creates international headlines, but children in Niger suffering from drought and children in Britain suffering from leukaemia go unnoticed.

I'm the only member of my family who dared to move away from Birmingham - my brothers and sister are still here, along with my mom.

We've yet to deal with the uncomfortable history of England being involved in the transatlantic slave trade, whereas America has at least made some movies dealing with its racial history.

Without a doubt, the majority of historical period dramas tend to be told from a certain perspective. At least in America, black people have some visibility in period dramas, although it's usually in the form of slaves or servitude.

Support for charities takes many forms. Some people give their money, some their spare time. I give my name and my voice. We give what we can to make a difference to the people and issues that matter to us. But what's most important, especially for celebrities, is giving our genuine commitment.

Everybody can, you know, go online, read about something, and have an opinion about something.

As an actor, whether I'm playing Othello on stage or David Estes on 'Homeland,' that ability to give into your imagination is something that I enjoy.

I can only appreciate the kind of work that goes into being a top drag queen. Ru Paul looks just astonishing as a woman. And he's got this fantastic turn of phrase. I find him hilarious.