Legally we have integration, social acceptance and diversity... but that doesn't mean... everybody is down with it.
I've recorded a few Bacharach songs over the years and performed some in concert and always felt they suited me.
I absolutely love 'Big Brother' and 'Celebrity Big Brother' and have never missed a series - but I would never appear on them.
I spent my 40th birthday on the stage of the Palladium in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.'
In 2005, I played Count Fosco in 'The Woman In White' on Broadway. It was a disaster. I was physically run down and terribly homesick and I just knew I had to leave. I lasted three months before the producers released me.
Bacharach has such a brilliant ear for melody and his music has a completely timeless feel to it; I thought it would be great to do a whole album of his music and to record with a full orchestra and big band which is something I hadn't done before.
I'd love to explore South America, but the security issues worry me.
I just work so much and so hard that I love the idea of being around family, friends and my animals quietly at home, just chilling out.
I play roles, but when I'm off stage, I always try to be myself.
I had Steven Spielberg on my radio show.
Working every day isn't hard if you love what you're doing.
I do all the cooking at home and love it.
When you're on stage and the stars are aligned and the audience is as one and you're guiding them, steering them... It's a feeling of incredible potency, of unity, of such, such joy. It's almost overwhelming to know that you're making that number of people feel better.
I have my family life and I think it's important to be able to shut the door and keep the door shut, and that keeps you grounded. You stay in reality.
I'd rather take the mick out of myself before anyone else does. I know they'll do it, so I'd rather get in there first!
I have a family who are desperately not interested in sharing their life with the world.
As a performer, once you've understood the genre of musical theatre, you can tire very quickly of the two-dimensional stuff. With Sondheim, it's always a challenge. It's difficult and exhilarating and he's so good on the complexities of relationships and on things going wrong.
All you have to offer as a performer is yourself.
Working is learning.
It's a mantra I've lived by for as long as I can remember. Nothing lasts for ever.
