David Morrissey

In all honesty, we all want our fantasy selves to be the best people. We all think in a time of crisis, we will react heroically and with humanity.

The biggest difference between British TV and American TV is money. But what money doesn't do on American TV, which I thought it would, is buy you time. You don't get more time. You get more toys.

You want people to identify with the person on the screen or in the theater, but you don't want them to identify with you as a person.

I'm not a perfectionist at all. I find perfectionists boring because the real creative heart is in the mess somewhere.

The reason I wanted to start directing is that as an actor I felt I came into a job late. There's a whole team of people who have been working on it for months before you start. You have this really intense period of filming and then you leave it, knowing that the director will work on it for another few months.

I always have to go out to work even if it's just a desk somewhere or an office or the British Library.

As a director, your work is finished only when it's on the screen. But I will always be an actor who occasionally directs. And no, I have no interest in directing myself. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on both jobs at once.