Mark Bonnar

“My big love is red wine and I once went to a vineyard in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, where we drank exquisite pinot noir.”

“I started writing my own symphony. I wrote about a page and a half. My mum and dad took it into music class and gave it, pleased as punch, to the teacher, Miss Montgomery. She played it on the piano for them. So I think they're the only ones that ever heard it.”

“Work breeds a bit of work sometimes. If you're in the right place at the right time, that can lead to other things.”

“In history we studied the bog man. Do you remember the bog man? I was absolutely fascinated by this. When something brings the past into sharp focus as a child it creates an indelible impression.”

“Certainly with stage, as I'm remembering, you don't get to spend any time at home. With film, you might do three, four days a week, and they might not be full days. So that aspect of it was a consideration. But I also just wanted to try different kinds of working.”

“And something like 'Unforgotten' is impressive with the myriad threads of people's lives so brilliantly woven together.”

“I have lived in England for a long time. And I love it.”

“My dad went to art school when I was one. They scraped and continued scraping, because artists, as we all know, don't earn a lot of money. It's a precarious existence and my mum didn't work, so dad sold paintings.”

“I tend to keep my love of heavy metal under the radar.”

“I loved the pace of life and the majesty of New Zealand. It's similar to Scotland - but feels newer.”

“Driving to set for 'The Rig', the route went right past my old secondary school. Every morning when I was going to work, I was passing Leithy and thinking: 'Oh my God, there's where Billy Gilfillan punched me in the mouth' or whatever.”

“I did a bungee jump in New Zealand even though I'm afraid of heights - it's good to step outside your comfort zone.”

“I do a good cold, hard stare.”

“I spent the first 10 years of my career playing psychotic Scotsman. I'm still playing psychotic Scotsmen really, they've just become a bit funnier.”