Ian Beattie quotes:

If Northern Ireland had better weather, it would be like New Zealand. It's an immensely beautiful country.

When I retired from the circus at the grand old age of 11, my parents thought it would be best to focus more on the challenges ahead, and so I started at Methodist College Belfast.

I might bump into them because I live in Belfast, and Belfast is not that big a place. You go for a walk, and you walk past Kit Harington. You go for a meal, and there's Peter Dinklage.

When I was little, one of my father's friends owned a circus. For four absolutely incredible summers, I found myself being the only boy in Ireland who didn't dream of running away with the circus. I was in it!

As an actor myself, I know we go where the work is, but I think it's sad the Lyric haven't found any homegrown talent.