Ian Beattie

I might bump into them because I live in Belfast, and Belfast is not that big a place. You go for a walk, and you walk past Kit Harington. You go for a meal, and there's Peter Dinklage.

When I retired from the circus at the grand old age of 11, my parents thought it would be best to focus more on the challenges ahead, and so I started at Methodist College Belfast.

When you're a child, it's easy to see school as the worst thing in the world. It's only later in life you realise what a wonderful time it was. Looking back, I can't believe I even wanted to leave.

I think for any actor, for the roles they deeply, truly want? They always have to audition for them.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

It's interesting how the view from abroad can shift and remake perceptions of homegrown celebrities, the ones who are part of the gross domestic product.