If you swap it about, do television, theatre, film, you can go on surprising yourself. The problem is you get employed to do something you've already done. They want something from that sheep pen of performances they've seen you do.

The only acting I knew when I was a boy came from Lochgelly. With a double bill, people would live their lives in the cinema. You would even see babies being breastfed in the audience.

You have to succeed as a young actor, then as a dad actor, those would be my 'Harvey Moon' years, then as an old actor.

I've always liked texts that you immediately understand. I suppose the playwrights who really speak to me are Edward Bond, Joe Orton and Harold Pinter. I've been in six different Pinter productions - I love the clarity of his language. He has this way of using words - there's a thrill to them.