My career has been in theatre for 23 years, with spits and coughs in bits and pieces of films. Scott [Hicks] very nicely said my entire career had been my audition [for the role in Shine (1996)].

People are intrigued and fascinated, almost obsessed with the private lives of great public personalities.

[Regarding he and Joseph Fiennes appearing in both Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Elizabeth (1998)] "He got to make love to Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett. All I got was an Oscar nomination".

This is what happens when you are on the wrong side of 40. Young adults, who could be your children, are now working with you. I was playing their parents or mentor. I started to think: Oh, I am not part of that group any more.

Yes, anally retentive men are my forte!

I did not want to put myself on the line, as an Australian playing Britain`s greatest comic actor. The fans of Sellers are obsessive, possessive - and aggressive. I did not want to risk their anger - or my own reputation.

My eye muscles hurt now when I read our MasterCard bill.

When people come to me and tell me I was terrific in this or that, I do not want to fall flat on my face the next time. But, tough, I have fallen flat before. You just get up and dust yourself off.

[about Quills] When you get to tongue kiss Kate Winslet and get paid for it, you say: I`ll sign!

I always had a fantasy of being a chef, because I like kitchen life.

I often thought I was in the wrong business. I was pretty seriously thinking of tossing it in before I shot Shine. I do not know why. I was pretty restless, I had been through a bad period of stress induced anxiety - panic attacks - and I was not sure of what I wanted to do.

It`s their story, and I got to be the guy in the back while they were in the foreground.