Peter Capaldi

“Even though I am a lifelong 'Doctor Who' fan, I've not played him since I was nine. I downloaded old scripts and practised those in front of the mirror.”

“The big reason that 'Doctor Who' is still with us is that every single viewer who ever turned in to watch this show, at any age, at any time in its history, took it into their heart - because 'Doctor Who' belongs to all of us. Everyone made 'Doctor Who.'”

“I find the closer you get to people, the harder it is to satirise them.”

“Scottish men of a certain age have a black response to almost everything as a measure of how sophisticated they are. I have a very long fuse that eventually explodes after building up a nice head of steam, although it's only happened three times - usually at work when someone takes me for granted.”

“I'm fascinated by fire. When I was four, I wore an American fireman's hat all the time, and I still have one in my office today. Glasgow used to be called 'Tinderbox City;' there were always fires, people getting killed.”

“It's one thing getting the job of Doctor Who, which is wonderful. And then the next thing they say to you is, 'We're going to announce it live on television!' And you think, 'That's not exactly what I thought I was signing up for!'”

“Drawing is the only thing I've found in which I can lose myself completely. I love it. It started as something that relaxed me, but now it's a struggle because I'm pushing myself. The day-to-day sketching is fraught.”

“I'm not an extravagant man. The fact that I can have a coffee out whenever I want still makes me feel grateful.”

“Even if I hadn't been cast as Doctor Who, my acting would probably have been influenced by William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and all of the other guys. Because those were the actors that I really watched every moment of, as opposed to Laurence Olivier.”

“The difference between movies and TV is that in TV you have to have a trauma every week, but that event may not be the biggest event in the characters' lives.”

“If people enjoy my profile from the privacy of their own home, that's entirely up to you.”

“I hate restaurants that play music. You come out for a quiet meal, and you're supposed to put up with all this booming. Why? It's madness!”

“The British film industry has always tried to sell itself as something rather sophisticated. It's almost as if it thinks it is by royal command. It has always tried to claim the high ground, not only over Hollywood but over the whole of humanity!”

“I wouldn't be here if it were not for the grant system that paid for me to go to art school - because my parents couldn't have afforded it.”

“A year after winning the Oscar, almost to the day, I was directing a dog food commercial.”

“The Hollywood image of the movie business is all about ambition and high achievers like James Cameron. But the British film industry is much more about men who wear cravats and work with model trains and hope another series of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' will be commissioned.”

“Personally, I have as little to do with politicians as possible. The ones that I've met I've found very boring. They're extremely egotistical, incredibly self-important. If I can help it, I try to stay as far away from them as possible.”

“What you're doing is acting with yourself. Well, I'm my favourite actor, so in a way it's quite straightforward for me.”

“I don't want to make a film to make a film.”

“I just consciously try to enjoy the good things that are happening. And if it ended tomorrow, that would be fine.”