I had been such a high-flyer up until that point—I was president of my class, tops at my school, I landed a top job with a top firm. But I was miserable. I was drinkin’ too much, and I knew in my heart that being a lawyer was not what I wanted to do. Anyway, at one point I had missed work so often that I was on my final warning—and strangely enough, a week before, I’d gone to see “Trainspotting,” the play, at the Edinburgh Festival, and had my heart broken watching this guy play the lead, Renton, thinking, I know I can do this. So after I missed work again, they let me go. I had to call my mom that night and say ‘I know you thought I was going to be a lawyer, but I’m not. I’ve just been fired.’ — from Interview Magazine (December 1, 2004)

I was a week away from qualifying and they let me go very quickly. I was just insane. I was never going to be a lawyer. I had no enthusiasm. — from Venice Magazine (November 1, 2003)

I was pretending to be this lawyer in a very traditional Edinburgh firm, but I felt like a little Glasgow boy who was totally at sea and could barely scramble a meal, let alone deal with clients and do complicated legal work. — from The Scotsman ( August 7, 2004)

If there’s one thing I say about myself as an actor, it’s that I’m not scared to try and not be sexy - and I’m not scared to try and be lost and be unable to cope. But I know that I can go the other way, as well, and play it powerful. With The Phantom you have all those things going on. You have this exceptional accomplished person who has this power and charisma that’s almost magical, but at the same time there’s this side that’s like a lost little boy. — from South China Morning Post (December 23, 2004)

It’s only recently that I’ve started to think that everything I am, good and bad, is what makes me. Instead of fighting all the bad and just being so unhappy. That’s just me, that’s just the way I am. I am not saying I’m going to try to improve but there is a level of acceptance. I’m doing well and I’m doing well because of who I am. — from The Herald (Glasgow) (February 9, 2002)

My dad was nuts. He was a very entertaining man, the best story-teller, the best joke-teller, like a big kid. I realised I had a lot of anger in me about not having spent my childhood with him, but when I met him and got to know him I realised he was just trying his best, the way he knew how. He was quite an irresponsible man, but I don’t think he had a lot of evil in him. He was very childish in a way, but a good man. I am really glad I got to know him. — from The Scotsman (August 7, 2004)

Of course, if Phantom makes me a star, I will still be unknown. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ is probably the biggest movie I’ve done, and for most of the film, I’m wearing a mask and a cape, and it’s the least recognizable I’ve ever been. When I watch the film, I think, Is that really me? And I like that. Maintaining my anonymity suits me. — from New York Times (March 13, 2005)

One thing that concerns me is that my life is too much about myself. I was passing a graveyard the other day and I thought, What are you when you die? A few generations later, when you’re not even a memory of any living person, you’re nothing. Maybe that’s why I make movies. For longevity. — from Interview Magazine (July 1, 2002)

Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I have this communion with my soul. It’s amazing and horrible, because you’re seeing yourself. It’s happened probably 10 times in my life. It’s the most bizarre experience, one that you can never have deliberately, and it happens to me while eating sometimes. Or when I’m up in the Hollywood hills, looking out over L.A. It’s a different world from when I was in Scotland going to movie theaters, wishing I could do that. There was pain then, because I knew that [becoming an actor] wasn’t going to happen. But those wishes have come true. It’s pretty fantastic. — from Interview Magazine (July 1, 2002)

The fact that you touched somebody’s soul or made them laugh that’s a wonderful thing. — from 7×7 San Francisco (April 1, 2005)

Well, being as macho as I am, I can’t compete with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s always going to win out for those types of roles — and I’m not being facetious when I say this, but I would like to play the different types out there. I’d like to play the insane and infirm sometimes, but so far, I’ve been playing military types and warrior kings, which is fine too. I’m not complaining. If anything, it makes me work harder. I want to bring the vulnerability to those roles, and that pushes you to find subtleties in a character that aren’t on the page. If I have one career ambition — as the so-called manliest man acting today — then I would like to be remembered as the one who blended macho-ness with sensitivity…. without looking stupid or completely self-absorbed. — from The Vancouver Sun (March 10, 2006)

When CNN said on the air that there were rumors that I had been cast as Bond, I was back in London. My washing machine was broken, and the central heating wouldn’t turn on, and the house was freezing. There I was, the ‘next big thing’ again, and the contrast seemed greater than usual. On the one hand, I was Bond. On the other, my life was a mess. — from New York Times (March 13, 2005)

When I met Angie at the audition, the minute she walked in, we just clicked and she made the process so easy for me, reading with a great actress rather than a casting director. Angie’s really cool, very down-to-earth. Very funny. — from Venice Magazine (November 1, 2003)

[About his fans] Some people say, “Don’t you think that that’s weird?” And actually, no. Maybe I look at it too naively but I think that the fact that I have touched those people as opposed to another actor or person… Because when I choose my roles and very often when I play them, you imagine that if you connect with something like this, then there surely are going to be a few other people out there who are going to feel those feelings. I know that when I play roles I often feel those feeling so intensely I can’t describe it. And they are often exceptionally poignant or life-changing feelings, and I think that just some other people get that. And when they get that, they feel it strongly about it. And how can you not be happy at that? — from About.Com (March 3, 2005)

[on his family and friend’s reaction to his auditioning for POTO] Everybody said that! I said ‘It’s Phantom of the Opera’ and I watched their mind processes and they went ‘really? Is it a musical?’ and I said ‘yeah!’ and they went ‘hmm, can you sing?’ and I went ‘apparently, Andrew Lloyd Webber thinks I can. — from Good Morning America (December 14, 2004)