Dan Stevens

At 13, in my first year of Tonbridge, I went up for the part of Macbeth. I was up against the 17- and 18-year-olds, but for some reason I got the part. It made me incredibly unpopular with my peers, but it was the English and drama teachers who stepped in to save me when others wanted me kicked out of the school. ”

But even writing the column for the 'Telegraph,' that idea of working to deadlines, which as an actor that's not something you have to do in the same way. It's excited me into wanting to do a bit more. ”

What was interesting was talking to older gay men about what it was like being gay in the Eighties. ”

I'm shocked at being recognized. ”

I was never very happy at school. ”

I was a pretty difficult teenager. ”

You can be romantically interested in someone and love them and still, I think, be really interested in things and a certain lifestyle that person might provide. ”

Soap opera seems to be a dirty word, but actually they are the most popular shows we have. People want to know what happens next, people hate the villains and love the lovers. It's good, fun TV. But I wouldn't call 'Downton' a soap opera as such. ”

Theatre, when it is at its best, takes a lot of beating - the live experience and the shared collective experience of live storytelling is really special when it is good. Particularly here in New York because the audiences are amazing, very vocal and very engaged, and that makes theatre very exciting. ”

Coming back to theatre is something I'm keen to do for the rest of my life. It recharges my batteries, so to speak. ”