Quotes

We lived in this ghetto during the worst excesses of the Seventies. When the tartan gangs came to wreck our estate, we had to defend it. We were barricaded in with diggers and earth-movers. It wasn't a case of joining the Republican cause, or the IRA - we were fighting for our very existence.

I know a lot of actors who have said to me, 'who'd have thought you could put a two-shot on screen for twenty minutes and people would be absolutely locked in, how does that work?' Well it does work, when the story is great and you've got these fabulous twists and turns - so those are my favorite bits!

I do like things that are a bit reckless, so long as the people around me are professionals. Stuntmen will see you through anything.

You show me a family, I'll show you dysfunction.

We don't know what is going to happen with Brexit, it's not going to be good for the North anyway whatever happens. It's not going to be good for Ireland whatever happens. And the problem is we don't know what is going to happen so we can't really prepare so everything is speculation.

I think sometimes we do miss what a fabulous playwright Brian Friel is.

Of course, that is true of a lot of people, whether they drink or not - celebrities or actors have an image they've created, and an image people like of them.

I am an Irish person. I'm an Irishman, but I'm also an Ulsterman.

I am absolutely an Ulsterman and I am reminded of that everywhere I go. I can't shake that in Dublin and I can't shake that in London - they are wary of us in both capitals.

Anything's possible in 'Line of Duty.'

I think it would be difficult to explore some aspects of Ted's past, because 'Line of Duty' investigates fictitious police forces - you never know, and you should never know, who it is we might be investigating.

I'm not sure about doing 10 takes of running up a flight of stairs, whether I'm really up to that... but I'll definitely have a go!

Having lived in London since the 1980s, I would have come across, or my friends across, cops who were in the Metropolitan Police who had been in the RUC.

The arts don't care what your background is. They belong to everyone.

People often say Beckett is difficult or bleak, but engaging with it is the most life-affirming, uplifting thing. It's his use of language. The music of the words works on your subconscious. You end up deeply moved but don't know why. That's where the magic lies.

When something like 'Line of Duty' happens, your profile is such that you're asked to do different things. I'm careful not to spread myself too thinly or it just goes mad.

I'd love to do something funny. Our work often deals with tough subjects. You do your research and it can be quite dark. So after all these years of drama, I'd like to go to work someday with the sole intention of making people laugh.

It was a fabulous time, doing 'Hear My Song.'

I'm writing all the time, I never stopped writing.

Sometimes when working on TV, especially when doing procedural cop work, you can refer to your notes. Your notes, of course, do contain, naturally, all the information you need.

Comedy is essentially about watching a bunch of people who you really love lose their dignity.

I've been lucky enough to do a tiny bit of Shakespeare onstage over the years.

In Shakespeare, the moral balances are very fine.

Shakespeare was very political, but he was also a fabulous entertainer. That's where his genius comes in as a playwright.

Myth is sometimes more important than history.