Quotes

On his battle with leukemia: "I didn't know what made me ill but stress had something to do with it and the point is now to head off stress at the pass. It made me aware of things and become more selective. I am less worried about employment. I really do my homework so I am not getting stressed on the set because I don't know what I'm doing."

[talking about the roles that have made him famous] "What some people take to be losers, I consider to be representative of normal life."

[on the possibility of an award at Cannes for 'Mr. Turner'] If it comes up, I'll have a go. Someone's got to win one. Actors always say, 'Oh, competition shouldn't be part of art'. Bollocks. It's a part of everything.

[on inadvertently assuming the persona of J.M.W. Turner in a pub , while preparing for his role] I grunted in a Georgian way, 'Are you a provider of wine?' I had to go and lean against a wall and take a deep breath to go back and ask, 'Can I have a glass of Pinot Grigio?'This is the only time in my life when the character bled into me.

Obviously I can't paint like Turner. I can paint like he did at nine. If you look at his paintings from when he was nine, they're not bad.

I've always said, "There's the funny-looking character actor who plays the same role every time". But I'm the funny-looking character actor who plays many different kinds.