Quotes from Ian McShane

I'm a child of the Sixties.

Every actor has to love and loathe the character he plays.

What you do is, you just do the gig, enjoy, get on with it, and treat the rest as horse doodle.

When you're in your early 20s, you go ahead and do everything. And it's very hard to judge yourself.

I don't do social media.

People tweet before they think, and it becomes obsessive.

I'm from the disco era where everybody thought they were John Travolta... What song is going to get me on the dance floor? Anything from 'Saturday Night Fever,' and you're up there like a demon.

The bad boy: always more fun.

'Lovejoy' has a special place in my heart because it was through my efforts that the series first came to the screen.

I would like to be in a really big, successful film - boffo, spectacular, $500 million!

Mum and Dad were both happy for me to do what I wanted.

My dad was a football player - a soccer player - for Manchester United, and I loved playing football, but I also happened to be the guy in class who was pretty good at sight reading. My teacher gave me scripts, and I was very comfortable.

When you're doing a medieval show like 'Pillars,' it starts off a bit like a school play. You're all in funny costumes; you've had your coffee, and you say, 'Good morning'. Then you go on set and, if you've got good actors and directors, it takes on a life of its own.

There's only two kinds of actors - good ones and bad ones... and lucky ones and unlucky ones.

I had a bit of a male menopause. It started at the age of 18 and continued until I was 45.

I don't believe in the death penalty, but I understand personal vengeance.

I mean, I'm an actor. I do what comes along.

My dad was a football player - a soccer player - for Manchester United, and I loved playing football, but I also happened to be the guy in class who was pretty good at sight reading. My teacher gave me scripts, and I was very comfortable.

The bad boys get all the best lines.