Paul spoke to UKP-Arts about his path to becoming an actor, the pros and cons of his work and how a mixture of both luck and nerve helped shape his career.

"Crimes and Misdemeanours' written and directed by Woody Allen. It's just the perfect film for me. Great comedy and great drama in perfect harmony. I've never seen a murder portrayed with that kind of sensitivity in any kind of film let alone a comedy. Pure genius in what I believe was Allen's golden period. That and 'The Last Picture Show', 'Life of Brian', 'Don't Look Now' and Herzog's 'Nosferatu'. Finally I'd have to say 'The Unforgiven' as well. I watched it on DVD last night for the first time in ages and it is a classic."

"'The Tin Drum' by Gunter Grass. Again, I read it at an impressionable age and it changed my mind about everything. It was magical but at the same time made me aware of the desperate psychological tragedies which afflict people's lives."

"At the moment it's still 'Up the Bracket' by The Libertines. Groups like this don't come around that often. Pete Doherty is a cross between Joe Strummer and Shane MacGowan who are both heroes of mine."

"I went straight to Harrow School of Art from school at 16, and did a two-year foundation until I was old enough to do a degree course. I was sure I'd be going on to do an illustration or a fine art degree but I went to visit Trent Poly's (now Nottingham Trent University), Theatre Design course and it really captured my imagination. It seemed to include all the things I was looking to do, but with this great studio theatre where you were encouraged to write, direct and act in stuff as well. I wrote, directed and designed a play called 'Diggle and the Devil' about the Nottinghamshire luddites. We did it in the round, like a huge cockfighting pit, with enormous gates of heaven and hell at either end. The Devil was MC, I made a latex suit with a baboons arse and hoofs for the actor. The play was a bit of an obsession with me at the time and I'm still immensely proud of it (and it got me a First)."

"I graduated in 1987 and for the next 8 years worked in bars, illustrated for the NME amongst others and specialised in designing theatre posters. All the while singing in bands, so kind of directionless but having a great time. First time I earned any money was when I became Tottenham Hotspurs in house graphic designer in 1991 and then in 1994 moved to Tel Aviv and became a resident theatre designer at their RADA equivalent, the Beit Tzvi. After 6 months I got a call out of the blue from a producer at the BBC who'd seen a tape I made of me being Dennis Pennis - going up and down Oxford Street taking the p*** out of the shoppers. She asked me if I'd fancy doing it to celebrities and I thought why not? I was coming up to 30 and still hadn't made my mark, so I jumped on a plane and a new career was born."

"Without doubt, the thing I love most about the job is the variety and unpredictability that goes with it. It seems to suit my nature very well as I'm constantly having to ask myself questions and confront my fears. It definitely feels more like a way of life than a profession. For example I've just completed a five-month run in the West End in a play called 'Dinner', which was an amazing experience, something I'd never have imagined doing. I'd just finished a film in Ibiza playing a DJ, which exhausted me so I chilled with my family for a month or so. Then a call came out of the blue about the play, I met the writer and director and got the part. I was convinced I couldn't do it but took the challenge anyway and bang! I was off on another adventure. Five months and 150 shows later and I can't quite believe I got through it. Life changing."

"The hardest thing for me is being away from my wife and kids for long periods of time, and I've kind of come to the decision that I wont anymore unless they can come with me. I enjoy the job but at the end of the day it's secondary to my family. You hear about all these celebrity couples splitting up because of work commitments, but I think you either want to be together or you don't. I'm amazed at people like Nicole Kidman, she's done 12 films in last two years, must have spent the best part of ten minutes being herself. What kind of life is that?"

"Having got into this business through an unconventional route, it's hard to advise how to get into it. For me, it had much to do with luck and I certainly wasn't looking for it when it came calling. I wish I'd realised earlier that I could act, I had no opportunities at school whatsoever and only found out by chance at the age of 30. I know that I was always looking for a way to express myself artistically, either through music or painting, and acting seems like a natural extension to those. I feel in a good position to call upon my own life experiences where necessary, I think for a some actors going straight to stage school without having lived a bit is a disadvantage. All their reference points are derived from other people's performances rather than a sense of the real thing."