I've Been Acting For 25 Years, Living

Even At Drama School If There Was A Part Of Some Eastern European Thug It Would Be Me.

When I Get Home After Being Away For Work, My Wife Always Stuffs The Fridge With Loads Of What She Calls 'nibbles' - All The Great Things You Can Eat Straight From The Fridge, Like Chunks Of Cheese, Slices Of Ham, Bowls Of Hummus.

I Think, Because Of My Background, Which Is Slightly More Exotic Than The Average British Actor, I Think, I Sort Of Occupied This Little Niche Quite Early On Of Playing The Foreign Guy. It Started Way Back At Drama School, I Played An Eastern European Heavy, I Played The Russian Mobster. And I Have Done All Those Different Ethnic Roles, And I Think It's Partly Because Of My Look, I Think I've Got An Adaptable Sort Of Nondescript Ethnicity, Which You Can't Quite Pin Down, But It's Enough To Kind Of Get A Flavor Of Something.

I've Always Loved Teaching Acting. I Think It Helps Me To Kind Of Get Back To Basics. It's Like A Refresher Course For Me As Well, So In A Sense, I'm Hopefully Learning As Much As My Students Are - Or At Least Discovering Or Re-discovering As Much As They Are. I Find That When I Teach, I'm Reminded Of My Own Sort Of Failings. I'm Reminded Of Where I Sometimes Keep Going Wrong.

To Be Challenged Means To Strive. I'm Almost Certain That's True.