Jimmy Nail

I went from being totally unknown to getting stopped every time I went out. I always wanted to be successful, but I have never wanted to become a celebrity. I never, ever, craved that.

Even now I can't stand being recognized in the street. I just hate it when strangers come up and try to talk to me. I'm pathologically shy.

I was racing through life, utterly confused and angry. I don't know if I was out of control; it was more like I felt frustrated with myself and everything I saw happening around me.

When I write that I've known about something for a long time, that's not a boast. That's a confession. It's me acknowledging that I have withheld something important from the public.

The blessing that this film business has given me is that when I walk into a school I automatically have everyone's attention. They want to hear what the guy from 'Con Air' and 'Desperado' has to say.

My first career ambitions involved turning into a boy; I intended to be either a railway guard or a knight errant.