I have a natural affinity with children and adults who can't accept adult responsibility.
'Sunshine' is really an experiment for me to see if I am a filmmaker beyond having my own stories to tell.
My first trip abroad was to do a TV version of 'Les Miserables' in France with Anthony Perkins. There I was at 12 acting with the guy from 'Psycho.' My parents were teachers, and it was hard for them to relate to that world.
I left school with no qualifications, but I was doing theatre and film work and thought that was the best thing since sliced bread.
I always devise a background so that it makes what your character goes through logical and keeps up the continuity.
I was turning up at sets where inexperienced people were making these badly written films - but they were doing it; that was the point. They were getting their films out there. And they were paying me, so they obviously had access to money. I just thought, 'I can make something better than this.'
I've been the teenage success, I've been homeless and driving around in my car and not knowing where to eat. You just want to keep working and learning, and I was doing that. If I hadn't done 'Wild Bill,' I'm sure I would have acted in something else.
As an actor, there's always that fear. You don't know where the next job's coming from, so you say, 'I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll do that'. Your choices are not always clearly thought out, and you can end up taking mis-steps.
As an older and wiser man, I don't believe in luck. I believe in hard work and talent and determination.
With directing, you've got to find something and drag it up from its inception, and I'm at the early stages of doing that again. There's something all-consuming and addictive about that.
I've been lucky enough to do theatre, film, and television for a career. Unless I get offered a job as an astronaut, I won't stray too far from it.
Spending time on 18th-century ships in Tahiti when I was 17 was quite unusual.
I love walking along Leith's waterfront and wandering around some of New Town's beautiful streets and squares, with their gorgeous Georgian architecture.
It took me a long time to make that leap to being a grown-up and responsible adult because I carried on being a child actor into my late twenties. It's OK to be precocious when you're young, but when you're a man of about 27 or 28 and playing a 17-year-old in a TV show, it kind of prolongs your childhood.
If you're not keen on crowds, it might be best to give Edinburgh a miss during festival time when it can get extremely busy.
I love travelling, but I have to admit I didn't initially take to Agra in India. As soon as you arrive, someone wants to show you around, take your bags or sell you something - and it's just a bit of a culture shock. You just have to make the necessary mental adjustment to the setting.
I didn't make 'Wild Bill' because I wanted to become a director; I just wanted to make 'Wild Bill.'
