Michael Sheen

On the one hand Twitter gives you the opportunity to engage with people, which is great, but on the other there are people who feel they can say whatever they want, put poison out there, really, without fear of any repercussions.

I think the story of 'Alice in Wonderland' in a way is a reminder that life is frightening, it can shift on you at any moment.

I think the best acting is when you allow yourself to be kind of vulnerable in the moment.

Acting itself is quite scary. Some people say that actors are show-offs, very egotistical and all that kind of stuff, but it is quite scary.

I'm a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy - not so much horror because I get a bit scared.

I think it's quite tough for people like Tom Cruise where you can never really get away from being Tom Cruise in something. You're so familiar to people and people know so much about your life.

I'm always aware that there are, broadly speaking, two different ways to act: there is acting, and then there's being, and I'm always more interested in that.

I'd love to go back to Greek times and see the birth of theater and performing, in that time. It would be so extraordinary to see the need that theater came out of, in the first place. I think we could probably all learn a bit from that.

I would never use prosthetics. I don't like sticking things on. I don't really like wearing wigs, either.

If you can define what God is, I can tell you whether I believe in it.

Americans are much more open than people in Britain.

Getting older is a struggle. I always feel that just under the surface of acceptance and enjoyment of the ageing process is a terrible hysteria just waiting to burst out.

I've always found it hard to say sorry.

I have a terrible temper. I have absolutely no problem with getting shouty or a bit physical. It's not something I'm pleased about and it doesn't happen very often, but it's very much there.

By the time you are 30 you are still trying to make your 15-year-old self happy but you are a different person. You need to be brave and let go of that.

I'm happy in my life.

I don't do the whole L.A. nightlife thing.

I find increasingly that the more extreme are the things going on in your life, the more cultural reference points fail you. More mythical reference points actually help, and you realise that's what myths are for. It's for human beings to process their experience in extremis.

Hopefully, any character I play has an anchor in reality.

For a culture that has such a problem with death, we seem to deal with it in a quite bizarre way. We see people shot, killed and blown up, and we find it funny and sexy and all those things. But, the reality of it is that every day people die, and people are really sad and they grieve and they go through a really difficult process with it.

I think being a parent is the most challenging thing you do. That's why we're here. It's at the heart of what it is to be a human being. It's the ultimate experience because it questions everything about who you are. But it's difficult.

I don't find the life in Hollywood all that meaningful or inspiring.

When you look at all the miracles attributed to Jesus, they're all about change.

I think when you work on a Woody Allen film the actors become a real company, probably more than on any other film.

I think a good story's a good story and a good character's a good character.

Sometimes you see things in a script, and it doesn't necessarily mean the director sees the same things. And if you think you're going to be making a different film, then that's not gonna work.

For me, what makes life enjoyable is having a shared culture and shared references.

As a general thing, I've always been drawn to characters who appear to be one thing on the surface, but are actually something else underneath.

My own daughter is a big fan of the 'Twilight' stories, the books.

I'm a big fan of vampire movies generally and that sort of tradition of characters.

We see death constantly on film.

You know, we're each the hero of our own story and we perceive what's going on around us, and especially in a relationship, from the kind of viewpoint of, 'Well, this is my story, and I'm the hero of that, and I justify what I do around it.'

I've always loved animation and animated films.

I think parenthood is a wonderful balancing act. On the one hand, you want to spend as much time with your children as possible. On the other hand, you want to set an example for them to see that you're fulfilled in your life and in your work.

I have a daughter, and fairies meant a lot to her growing up.

A lot of children are interested in fairies, especially young girls, and Tinker Bell is the ueber-fairy. She's the pin-up girl of fairies. She's the ultimate fairy, but she's also got a mischievous spirit and she's very strong-willed. I think a lot of youngsters recognize themselves in Tinker Bell.

When I was at drama school, I wanted to change the world, and thought I had some great wisdom to impart to people about humanity. Now that I'm older, I know enough to realise that I know nothing at all.

While I enjoy spending time in L.A., Britain is my home.

When I'm in America, I like to be near the sea, listen to music, watch films, read and write.

I suppose I'm something of an eccentric dresser.

In some ways any film that you do has an artificiality about it. Even when you're doing the most kitchen-sinky, gritty, realistic scene you've still got 50 people standing around watching you with cameras and lights and things.

I don't want to do something that I've done before; I can't see the point of it.

I enjoy doing things that involve research because it's part of what I enjoy about acting.

It's weird that I've ended up playing so many real live people, because I was never any good at impersonations at school.

Although my family - parents and sister - all work in the personnel management business, their real passion is performing, amateur operatic societies and so on.

A parent can seem very kind and gentle, but as any child knows, as soon as that parent gets stressed, they can suddenly turn and get a bit angry.

I was obsessed with football when I was growing up.

I try not to pay any attention to clothes fascism and I'd rather be thought of as someone who has his own sense of style.

I can be a lazy dresser.

My taste in watching things runs from dramas and low-budget films to high-end fantasy/science fiction.