What is your earliest memory?
Sitting in a pram in the sunshine in Myddelton Square, north London, waving at passers-by. My mum used to put me out in the street to keep me occupied, and she and various neighbours would lean on the windowsill and keep an eye on me.
Which politician, past or present, do you look up to?
Nelson Mandela stands head and shoulders above the crowd for his tolerance in the face of extreme suffering and his ability to unite a nation against all the odds.
Who was your childhood hero? And who is your adult hero?
David Bowie. His music and style were unique and he was the first to make me think about individuality and creativity. As an adult, Muhammad Ali, for the same reason – to thine own self be true.
What would be your Mastermind special subject?
My theatre knowledge is pretty good, and I particularly love the plays of Arthur Miller – but I suspect it would probably be Arsenal Football Club.
Which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live in?
When Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ben Jonson were writing and performing their plays and the “Vagabond Act” of 1572 viewed travelling Elizabethan actors as such a threat that regulations were imposed. Sounds like a fun time.
What TV show could you not live without?
The Simpsons. A favourite episode has Homer at the annual Springfield Chilli Cook-Off, where he eats super-spicy chilli made with a dangerous Guatemalan pepper grown by mental patients. The pepper has a powerful hallucinogenic effect and Homer wanders off into the strangest regions of his mind to find his soulmate, accompanied by a spirit guide voiced by Johnny Cash.
Who would paint your portrait?
Lucian Freud for the warts-and-all harsh reality, or Caravaggio for the dark beauty and intensity of his style.
What’s your theme tune?
For sheer drama and danger, Montagues and Capulets from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Put it on your headphones and walk down the street and you’ll see what I mean.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Have you followed it?
A very special man named Sydney Stolerman once told me not to become an actor, as it was unlikely it would work out. He jokes to this day that it’s a good job I didn’t follow his advice.
What’s currently bugging you?
Injustice, greed, envy and intolerance. So-called leaders interested only in themselves. People unwilling to observe the social contract.
What single thing would make your life better?
Not being able to be contacted instantly anywhere in the world through modern technology.
When were you happiest?
I was pretty content at university. I had few responsibilities and was learning something I loved and partying with people I still love. But most of all at the birth of my children. An unbeatable feeling.
If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?
I studied law so perhaps I might have made it to the Bar, though I gave up that idea when I suspected playing a barrister was probably much more fun than being one.
Are we all doomed?
Unless everyone gets serious about climate change and we stop electing world leaders who behave like paranoid teenagers, then undoubtedly.
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This article appears in the 21 Jun 2017 issue of the New Statesman, The zombie PM