Phil Daniels

“I had a weimaraner for 11 years called China, and he was a great dog, a bit mad. They're massive, weimaraners; they've got big floppy ears. They look like a pointer, but they're liver-coloured.”

“Acting is my passion, and Chelsea FC is my hobby.”

“It was a wonderful experience to live the life for a year; to spend all day doing Shakespeare and then do a play in the evening.”

“I like people like Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins. And Gianfranco Zola, who played for Chelsea and Italy. He's an artist with his feet.”

“I think that's what keeps you grounded - having your own life that's not directed by your job.”

“I don't miss 'EastEnders.' I did a two-stretch. That was enough.”

“When my daughter was born, I called her Ella Bella Mandela, because she was born the day after Mandela was released from prison.”

“When I was a kid doing television, they'd stick a leather jacket on me, and I would be the thug.”

“It's great to do small plays in the theatre and then go off with Blur and play in front of thousands of people.”

“It's never gone so far as me wishing I'd never done 'Quadrophenia,' but there was a time when I wouldn't talk about it because I wanted people to be interested in me for other things as well.”

“In my game, you get brokenhearted a bit. You do a play, get a bad review in the papers... actors are sensitive; you think of all the work you've done, and it breaks your heart, but you learn to shrug it off and to carry on.”

“Doing 'EastEnders' wasn't exactly suffering, but my soul's not in quick-fix TV. Theatre doesn't pay like TV work pays, though. We all have to live, don't we?”

“My acting career began when I walked into a drama school class run by Anna Scher in Islington. Anna discovered a lot of people: Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke, Gary and Martin Kemp, and Dexter Fletcher were among my contemporaries.”

“I found that golf saved me from going to the pub every day, so instead, I play golf with other unemployed actors. I'm a member of the Stage Golfing Society, and I play golf with all sorts of people.”

“I get on with actors, and when I'm doing a theatre show, it's great being with them all the time. But we're all alike, and it's much nicer being with people who are different.”

“Being a part-time pop star was perfect, really, when I wasn't worn out by the partying.”

“I'm famous for being a silky midfielder.”

“My philosophy is to enjoy yourself. Do the things you want to do, like play golf!”

“I used to go into bars on my days off, and I decided that wasn't too good for me.”

“'Vinyl' is a good look at the music industry. The script was honest.”