Colin Firth

Growing up, my mates and I would have rather been Sid Vicious or members of the Royal Family. ”

I think that London is very much like that. I find there's humour in the air and people are interesting. And I think that it's a place which is constantly surprising. The worst thing about it? I think it can be smug and aggressive. ”

I do notice that when I've been away and I come back to London. People look at you. People are ready to pick arguments. ”

People have the idea of missionaries as going out with the Bible and hitting natives with it. It's not really what they were doing. They were all doing something rather different. ”

Something like 'A Single Man,' it was tiny; it was financed by one guy. We all lost money doing it. ”

If you don't mind haunting the margins, I think there is more freedom there. ”

People coming up and saying something nice is always welcome. But when you're being secretly photographed, that's not so nice. I would rather shake hands with someone and exchange a few words than take a selfie. ”

I think it's quite extraordinary that people cast me as if I'm Warren Beatty: until I met my present wife, at the age of 35, you could name two girlfriends. ”

One of the things that makes you want to be an actor, speaking only for myself, is that there's something infantile about it. You're suspending disbelief, pretending and entering into a story world. ”

I can't imagine seeing Batman in black and white. It was such a colourful TV series. I know. I'm ancient. It wasn't abnormal to be without a television in those days. People who had colour were special. ”