Quotes

I started with the RSC in 1957 with the likes of Olivier [Laurence Olivier] and Peggy Ashcroft and I've been in many plays, TV shows and movies over the years but I've never made enough money, so retiring now I'm 78 is not an option.

[on Jamie Glover] He's the apple of our eye. He's a fine actor, but he's starting to turn down acting work because he's about to become a director.

Isla [Isla Blair] always wanted a daughter, which sadly I wasn't able to give her. Then, when our only son Jamie's marriage broke up, Isla thought she'd never have grandchildren. She didn't complain, but it was very sad for her. But Jamie, who's 43 now, found a new partner and we now have two wonderful granddaughters.

Jamie [Jamie Glover] gave me a fabulous glass engraved with the Glover family crest for my 50th birthday. I was thrilled. Then I got a message from a film producer asking to talk to me, and as I leapt to my feet I knocked the glass over. It broke - and I didn't get the role either!

Isla [Isla Blair] and I always give each other gifts on our first nights.

[on For Your Eyes Only (1981)] It was fantastic, I got £500 for my first week - twice what I'd been earning.

I started off playing a villain in the film Tom Jones (1963) and that led to a whole career as villains, really. In fact, it got to the point where I would tell people not to employ me because the audience would see me and instantly know that I did it. Which was rather foolish of me, as I probably talked myself out of quite a lot of work.

Michael Gambon is a great stealer of parts, quite understandably. He's a terrific actor. I was a close runner-up for Dumbledore when Richard Harris died, but then Gambon appeared, and that was the end of that.