I think that Liverpool's particular modern history lends itself to the cinema better than London in many ways. When you go to Liverpool, you absorb that whole sound and humour.
— Rhys Ifans
The strange thing is, if I was speaking to drama students about the thing that you should do if you're lucky enough to know or to meet the character that you're playing, I'd say, 'It's obvious: you quiz them diligently about their experience.'
The whole film genre is one of deceit. It is the suspension of disbelief. That's what all theater and all film is based on.
Film and stage are very different; I don't necessarily prefer one over the other. Every few years, I get a big itch to go back to the theater. To learn humility, to learn bravery and to remind yourself that the pistons that drive your craft are working on full power. And to remind yourself how badly paid actors can be.
What was extraordinary about Occupy London was that it was a village with a louder voice than one of the biggest cities of the world.
There aren't many odysseys in cinema for characters.
I'll move back to Wales if and when I have children. I want them to speak the language I speak, but I love living in London. It's my favourite city in the whole world. I love it because it's not England, it's London.
I don't have a problem with green screen at all. I think children invented CGI. We invent worlds. A stick can become a sword. Or a bowl of stones can become a bowl of tomatoes. That's what children do, and that's what CGI enables us to do.
More than any other super-hero, 'Spider-Man' presents us with something very local in its ethics. It's not messianic. It's far more tangible.
I do find real life a bit overwhelming sometimes. I'm totally chaotic.
Each generation needs a 'Spider-Man' to mirror their angst.
I go to work, and I work very hard. I'm loyal, generous, true, kind, fair - all those boxes are ticked. I'm going to Heaven.
I think Liverpool generates generosity which rubs off - it's a good place to work and to party.
Every species has its pub.
When I was young, I was in a hurry to live. And now I'm just not in a hurry.
Edward Curtis was a photographer in the late 19th century who tried to document the rapidly disappearing Native Americans. He assembled a canon of work which, today, is exemplary and invaluable.
I'm a sporadic reader. I have moments when I can't stop... then I kind of forget that I can read. But then I go, 'Oh God, yeah, books!'
Film can become stagnant as a medium.
There is no such thing as a criminal life. Life is life, and life is criminalized. No one ever, in the history of life, has chosen a criminal life. No one has ever said, 'I want to be a criminal.' No one ever has done that.
After you have been incarcerated for so long, whatever story is told in the aftermath is beautiful.
I play really bad punk rock guitar.
As a Welsh speaker, I'm very conscious of how activism can effect real change.
Shyness is invariably a suppression of something. It's almost a fear of what you're capable of.
The majority of comic book villains are pure evil, but Curt Connors is an exception. Curt Connors is a good man who initially wants to save the world, but he gets hungry and greedy and reckless, and he pays the price for that.
I'm Welsh. We didn't do 'Peter Pan.' We have far more ancient legends to be put to sleep with.
I think that all great art never strives to answer any questions; it just asks the appropriate ones at the appropriate time.
Acting is not an intellectual process for me. It comes from my heart. It's this strange netherworld of osmosis where I simply become.
When I'm not filming, I do rock n' roll; when I'm not doing rock n' roll, I do filming.
I just don't buy the tabloids.
If you've got a camera, go to a war zone and tell a story.
A pub can be a magical place.
I just don't take myself as seriously anymore. But as a result of that, I am taking myself more seriously. My ego has gone on holiday, and it can't get a flight back home.
For me, 'Come and See' is, by a million miles, the best film about war that has ever been made. I would highly recommend, encourage and enforce anyone to watch it.
Every time the Tories get a bit of power, they rip off all the things I love... The mining industry. Milk.
You know you are in a good film when it affects the audience.
As an actor, our very palette is one of imagination. So it is a walk onto an empty space and then imagine the world beyond it is what we do.
Villains are fun. I think the important thing in playing them is that they don't see themselves as villains. It lets you be a little more expansive.
On a conventional film, you do one take, and if it's good, they say, 'Let's do another one for insurance.'
All punk rockers hate Christmas.
Welsh women aren't the most tactile unless they're your relatives. And then you don't want them to be.
I honed my passion for acting in theatre and education, and I think it's important not to belittle the child audience.
I consider projects very deeply, but there's always a point in your life where there's a bit of randomity.
I am essentially very shy. Which, I guess, is why I'm very good at not being shy.
In terms of partying and reckless abandon, I'm Don Juan. But, in terms of my heart, I'm the most loyal man you'll ever meet.
Club DJs don't talk to the crowd.
Spider-Man is a school boy that's looking for his parents.
Being on tour is a giggle.
I come from a culture where the pub is the centre of the community. The pub is the Internet. It's where information is gathered, collated and addressed.
I'm becoming more indulgent and less giving as an actor as I get older. I'm immersing myself more in roles emotionally.
I'm a real magpie when it comes to music; it's all random, and there's no pattern to what I like.
