When I'm playing a character like Jonathan in Ripley's Game I want to be in the moment when he's feeling pain; this very ordinary person who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances.
I just love jumping into someone else's life. It is a relatively cheap way to experience things you would be too scared to contemplate in your own life.
You'd have to have one hell of an imagination to completely make up a story, but historians are very anal about what they think should be portrayed on screen. Thankfully they don't make movies; we do.
Fairfax was incredibly important to the shaping of the country.
You're making a movie, not a documentary. If you made a film like the historians would like you to make, you're not going to go and see it. I'd rather see paint dry.
I'm doing a Dylan Thomas film, Map of Love, with Mick Jagger producing again. It's a wonderful script.
Sometimes it is easier to play someone who is far away from you.
You couldn't take football away from me, you couldn't take acting away from me.
I got involved in script development from the beginning. It was nice to see how a film gets made right from the beginning. It was quite hands-on for me.
You should be careful what you wish for, as the reasons for war get confused. One person can be very clear in their motives, but others can have different agendas.
What was the reason for invading Iraq' Was it a humanitarian crusade or an economic one' I would be inclined to say the latter. It was the same with the Civil War, because the landed gentry's money was being stolen by the king.
People go to see a film because it's a great story and it's visually exciting to watch.
With the situation now, people might be intrigued to see how a country coped with war all those years ago.
The success of the film is down to the crew.
Method acting is a label I don't really understand, because there's a method to everybody's acting.
In terms of jumping into a character's skin, I try to immerse myself in the role as much as possible to bring me closer to them. All I do is what's required to achieve what I want to achieve.
You grow up a lot in terms of your understanding of the industry and how to deal with the corporate things.
My focus never wavered; I never accepted the film was not going to be finished.
I don't like acting things; I like feeling things.
It quite often happens that they attach a name to a project and it doesn't get all the financing it needs.
