"I feel more Irish than English. I feel freer than British, more visceral, with a love of language. Shot through with fire in some way. That's why I resist being appropriated as the current repository of Shakespeare on the planet. That would mean I'm part of the English cultural elite, and I am utterly ill-fitted to be." "I think the best actors are the most generous, the kindest, the greatest people and at their worst they are vain, greedy and insecure." "I'm just a foul-mouthed Brit." My definition of success is control. Friendship is one of the most tangible things in a world which offers fewer and fewer supports.