What I love about the East End is that there’s a great perseverance, determination and courage. What I dislike about it is that there is sometimes a celebration of ignorance.

What I love about the East End is that there’s a great perseverance, determination and courage. What I dislike about it is that there is sometimes a celebration of ignorance.

My business is not to show anybody anything; my job is just to do it.

I went swimming the other day and my wife was watching and she said, ‘You know, it’s funny, it’s when you’ve got no clothes on, no one recognizes you.’ I said, ‘What are you saying? That I should do more love scenes?’

I have friends who are leading men, and they’re only ever allowed to play leading men of a certain type. But as a character actor, there’s a wider variety of projects available. On the big Hollywood films, all they care about is having their lead in place, so it’s actually easier for someone like me to slip in. And I’m happy to do so.

The trick to acting is not to show off, it’s to think the thoughts of the character.

There’s no great mystery to acting. It’s a very simple thing to do but you have to work hard at it. It’s about asking questions and using your imagination.

When you’re the youngest and the only boy, you get spoilt but you get told you’re spoilt so you don’t get to enjoy it very much. I was the only man in the house because my parents divorced and my dad moved away when I was 13.

I consciously decided not to be a ‘London’ actor. Those gangster movies made a lot of East End actors think they were movie stars. And I was very aware that they were going to go out of fashion.