Eoin Macken

“When I was a kid, growing up, I used to write a lot of stories.”

“Every part of it is important; the film comes alive when you edit it, the film comes alive when you write it, the film comes alive when you act it, and the same with the directing. They're all the most important part at the time and that's why I enjoy doing it, because you're creating a story and every part is a very integral part of it.”

“I stumbled into acting. My dad, James, was a barrister but he was always very creative and he loved theatre and the arts.”

“Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.”

“You never know with a new show. It takes awhile for shows to find their feet and for people to connect with it.”

“Because if someone writes something and they have decided this is what it is, it's my job to make it work unless it's way out of left field.”

“When you're in college, you meet somebody that you think is a little bit arrogant and cocky, and you don't like them because they have this attitude about them that seems grating, and then you realize that they have their issues and this whole other side going on.”

“When I left college at 22, I went to LA to study acting after being introduced to an acting coach called Vincent Chase. Later, I got an agent over there.”

“A lot of fashion photographers are telling a story with their pictures.”

“I love science fiction just because of the scope of what it can be.”

“I love acting, but I hate being in front of camera - I get really awkward. I hate being the centre of attention.”

“I was just fascinated with the brain and the mind, and I found psychology engaging for writing about people, and that fed into my interest in cinema.”

“The fun of that sci-fi and adventure stuff is that it's always somebody who's not believed and is not being trusted. If you saw an alien walk across the street, who are you gonna tell? Who would believe you?”

“I go through periods where I feel very confident about stuff but other periods that are insecure... I find doing different stuff removes the responsibility of focussing on one thing.”

“I love the idea of playing a character, to get that chance to be somebody completely different.”

“With acting, you have to put in the groundwork, then maybe you'll get lucky. It's a slog but it's also fun.”

“In a modelling shoot you are trying to play a character, a role. There are models who are dead, who have no expression whatever. I think you need to use your physicality, your sense of humour and your emotion when you model.”

“I think modelling helped me. I was very shy and self-conscious when I went to college, and I think in some ways modelling exacerbates those things - because it's all about you being the centre of attention - but it also helped me travel.”

“My novel, 'Kingdom of Scars', is a coming-of-age story.”

“Because I don't understand what would be someone's motives to want to go into space, where you're possibly going to die, and to try to meet an entity that may or may not be benevolent or want to kill you.”