Julian Ovenden

Looking back at those great singers like Gordon MacRae and Howard Keel - they have such a specific kind of style that it seems like we don't really appreciate anymore.

It seems like pop singing has sort of influenced musical theatre in so many ways - you could argue good or bad, really - and musical theatre is written for that style so often, which is a completely different style.

Reality TV has taken over.

I read recently of the advent of a completely wireless house. Having just moved house and being drowned in billions of cords and cables, that sounds like a great thing to have.

Easy listening' is a term that is often used incorrectly.

I just love New York, I love the people. The energy of the place. I really feel energized working here. I've always been made to feel very welcome, and it's a tremendous city.

It's important in show business to have friends who understand the cut and thrust of everyday working life and the constant rejection.

I don't go to church regularly. I wouldn't say I was religious, but more spiritual.

I think I've got better at expressing my emotions. But going through the education system I went through - I don't think you can go to boarding school and come out without feeling a little repressed - yes, it does leave its mark on you.

I trained as a singer before I was an actor. I was a kid singer, I went to theater and choir school, and then I got music scholarships throughout my education. And that's what I was going to do. And then I took a left turn and went to drama school and became an actor.

I think it's kind of nice, in this day and age of instant gratification, that you have to wait for something.

It's quite an interesting time, the '20s, because the politics of England were changing quite a lot, and the class structure was starting to shift a little.