Quotes from Douglas Henshall

Every job I still think 'I wonder if this is the one they're going to sack me for'.

I read Ann Cleeves's books and think the way she paints Shetland is very interesting.

Fatherhood, parenthood, is something that completely overwhelms you and absorbs you, and you just have to be the best dad that you can be.

No, my ma died nearly 20 years ago. I still miss her, and I still think about her a lot but the memories I have are warm, rather than melancholic or tinged with sadness.

I could never call myself a Chelsea fan. I'm a St Mirren supporter. But after about 35 years of watching St Mirren, I think I'm entitled to go and see what else there is.

I wanted a jumper. After all, in Shetland you are in the land of the Fair Isle sweater. But then everyone said to avoid that - Sarah Lund has cornered the jumper market.

My ma wanted to go and have a wee look at where all the Scottish kings had been buried. So we traipsed over Mull, in the pishing rain, with the parents desperately trying to find things to do as is the case with a holiday in Scotland, then on to Iona.

Do you know, I didn't play a policeman up until I was 40, and then suddenly that's what I have been asked to play.

The Catholic Church is wealthier than Coca-Cola, but takes from some of the poorest people in the world.

It's one of those weird things you start doing: you get to have on-screen teenage children and play policemen. That's what happens to you when you hit 40.

One of my pet hates is people re-Tweeting praise, I loathe it more than anything else in the world.

I entertain people. I think that's pretty good. That's what I contribute to society. I'm proud of what I do.

We have a rich cultural tapestry in Scotland, it's not that there's a lack of stories.

I'll lie awake and think about scenes I could have done better, that I could have filmed in a different way.

David Hayman gave me my Equity card and my first job out of drama school - the first person I really looked up to professionally.

It must be terribly odd if you spend most of your time on somewhere like Shetland and come to a big city.

It's been great being on location in Shetland and out in the fresh air.

Fundamentally, I do a job at which I can make a living and I like it. That's the bottom line. I still really enjoy it. I like getting up and going to work. I've spent my whole adult creative life doing this.

I live in London, where you're assaulted, from the minute you wake up. Your head becomes like a hive of bees, with all the noises being thrown at you, all the time. And then, you go somewhere like Shetland and you start to hear birds, wind, and natural sounds.

When I was a child growing up in Glasgow my parents did Christmas incredibly well. They were as excited about it as we were.

With 'Shallow Grave' people realised that you could set a film in Scotland and it didn't have to be about leaky boats in the Highlands. Then 'Trainspotting' made it fashionable.

I got to be in a western, which was the best fun ever. It's one of those boxes you tick. I've wanted to be in a western since I was seven and suddenly I got to go out there and be a sheriff, ride a horse and have the badge, firing a Smith & Wesson.

I'm the only emotional frame of reference I've got.

God, when I was about nine or ten years old, my whole summers were spent playing tennis. I was there from when it opened till when it closed. They had to kick me off the courts, I loved it so much.