What is your idea of perfect happiness?
On the west coast of Ireland with a well-poured pint of Guinness.
What is your greatest fear?
Snakes, destitution.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Laziness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Pretentiousness.
Eating in restaurants.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My sticky-out ears.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Knowing everything.
How do you relax?
I read in a hot bath, a drink to hand.
What vehicles do you own?
A bicycle.
What is your favourite word?
'Sesquipedalian'- it means the unnecessary use of long words.
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Arnold Schwarzenegger - anything to get him out of politics.
Is it better to give or to receive?
Depends if she's tall and blonde.
Have you ever said 'I love you' and not meant it?
No, but I have said it, meant it and been wrong.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
The ending to the first series of Lost.
When and where were you happiest?
Cornwall, aged 18. Acting in a play in an open-air theatre and falling in love.
When did you last cry, and why?
The Rwandan National Stadium, at a screening of Shooting Dogs for several thousand Rwandans. There was no appropriate verbal response.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A late 1970s open-top Mercedes.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Short People, by Randy Newman.
How would you like to be remembered?
As the saviour of mankind, but I'd settle for, 'he made a mean fish pie'.
