Aneurin Barnard quotes:

I remember watching 'A Streetcar Named Desire' when I was quite young, I was about 12, or 13, and I watched it, thinking, 'Wow. That is pretty cool. I'd like to do something like that.'

I came from a very, very small valley in the middle of South Wales. I grew up there with my father, who's a coal miner, and my mother worked in a normal factory.

I used to just daydream all the time about being in movies, from the age of, like, four onwards. I would sit down and watch movies with my father and my grandfather, and always pretended that I was in the stories.

Every day is a work day, and I have to work my ass off just as much as any other guy, doing whatever job they're doing. I believe in commitment and hard work, and hopefully, after that, success comes.

For me, every opportunity is a golden opportunity, so I just need to work as hard as I can to maintain credibility and respect and hopefully people enjoy watching me as an actor.

When I was a kid, I used to pretend to be Bond; I used to make up scenarios and irritate my sister and annoy my mother and father pretending to be someone else, so I kind of was already acting when I was a child. I just didn't really know it.

Richard Burton is my number one idol. One, because we come from very similar backgrounds and two, because of his fantastic talent.

The biggest thing about me, as an actor, is I'm never a finished product, you know? I always want to try something or be in a new genre because, one, it's much more fun to do that because you're not doing the same thing over and over.

I never like to stick to one media; whether it's a TV series or feature film, I enjoy it and I like changing constantly.

I do my own stunts; that's something I'm very passionate about. I spent a lot of time on boats as a kid, so it's just nice to be able to put that into use in the job that I do.

I like being on a set where you can make decisions and everything is involved and are happy to work together to make the best work. For me, it's all about making the best work and creative people working together and all being respected and all having their opinions of what gives it the best quality is important.

As long as I'm enjoying what I'm doing, then that's fine. That's what I want. I want to enjoy life. We're only here for a small ride, so it may as well be a good one. If I can go to work enjoying what I do, then my life becomes a very nice one.

I want to be challenged. Every job I've done so far, every character has been completely different and that's really important to me because I don't want to fall into a stereotypical box.

Of course, every actor has their box and you have to respect and play for it, but I do love challenging myself. I love every role to be new, and I always like to bring a freshness to every character I play.

I'm a big believer in playing truth and not doing things for effect. It's not about whether you look pretty or glamorous. It's about whether people connect.

For me, the key is always trying to find the connection between the audience and the character I'm playing. That's important to me, in any work I do.

I don't approach my acting as just saying a few lines and then going off-screen. It's a craft. I really invest in trying to make it a craft.