A biography for Tim Pigott-Smithhasn’t been written yet.
“What makes Biarritz special, as far as I'm concerned, are the fantastic coastline, the beaches - such as the Cotes des Basques - and the sea.”
“I always remember to go on the Staten Island Ferry because it's the most amazing view of New York. And it's free! You see Ellis Island, and it conjures up something of that great moment: you know, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. It's staggering.”
“There is something about the way I photograph. People often say, 'Are you cross with me?' My eyes can look sort of... like a wall.”
“My memory is quite good, except when I'm off stage.”
“For sheer excitement, a weekend in New York is unbeatable. Arrive on Friday morning, leave on Monday night, and don't worry about jet lag - just buzz for four days.”
“After a West End run, in which I was promoted to Laertes, I joined the RSC in 1972. I had fulfilled my dream.”
“Of course there is a danger of typecasting, and since 'Jewel in the Crown' appeared, I have had countless offers to play sadistic policemen and middle-class misfits.”
“I'm not a big fan of the Mediterranean, but being in the Bay of Biscay, the sea is forever changing, and on a clear day, you see as far as Spain. It's incomparable.”
“I have only met Prince Charles once, when he was very charming and easy to chat to. I have always had a soft spot for him, and I admire our constitutional monarchy, but Charles often comes across as eccentric, and he has a mixed press.”
“When I was 16, we moved to live in Stratford-Upon-Avon. That was the year of Paul Scofield's 'Lear.' I think he is still widely perceived as the only actor who has got his flag at the top of the mountain.”
“I used to think the actor's job was immersing himself completely in another personality.”
“The 'reality' shows on television, the Internet, these things have encouraged people to behave with less and less restraint. We are broadcasting our emotions in public in a way that has never happened before.”
“Drama at Bristol was an academic course: you were judged on your A-levels, and there were no auditions. I did a BA General degree.”
“In television, I was first cast as a cavalry officer because of my name.”
“Everybody wants a movie career. I found that pretty elusive. I did make a movie with Martin Sheen about a nuclear scientist who has a religious experience. I don't even know what it was called. I don't think it was ever released.”
“I love Stevie Wonder for his sense of rapture in the music. He can swing through a zappy tune, lift your heart, or drift into a sad ballad with consummate ease.”
“My parents were fantastic. I was an only child, so I had a lot of love and too much attention. I don't think I was spoilt. My mother was quite a disciplinarian, but I did have a lot of attention and quite a lot of pressure to do well at whatever I was doing.”
“I like songs to mean something as well as sound good, and Paul Simon is a maestro. While Art Garfunkel was a voice and moved on to other things Simon remained the genius lyricist and composer.”
“As a child, we lived in flats, and I was never allowed pets.”
“I like jazz, and Martin Taylor and his band have it all, including a wonderful saxophonist and very fine accordionist, so you get a rather unusual range of sound.”