Top 34 Quotes & Sayings by Mark Bonnar

My big love is red wine and I once went to a vineyard in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, where we drank exquisite pinot noir.

In history we studied the bog man. Do you remember the bog man? I was absolutely fascinated by this. When something brings the past into sharp focus as a child it creates an indelible impression.

Driving to set for 'The Rig', the route went right past my old secondary school. Every morning when I was going to work, I was passing Leithy and thinking: 'Oh my God, there's where Billy Gilfillan punched me in the mouth' or whatever.

And something like 'Unforgotten' is impressive with the myriad threads of people's lives so brilliantly woven together.

I tried many different things before becoming an actor, so this is my plan B.

Success is something that other people always point out. I don't think one ever thinks of oneself as successful, because if you do, you're going to immediately lose whatever it is that's driving you, aren't you?

I made a conscious decision after I did 'The Duchess of Malfi' at the Old Vic in 2012, when my daughter was six months old, to try doing more screen work.

There's nothing like driving into Glencoe and feeling for the first time that you're in the Highlands.

I sold burglar alarms for four weeks, which wasn't very long, but it was long enough.

My dad went to art school when I was one. They scraped and continued scraping, because artists, as we all know, don't earn a lot of money. It's a precarious existence and my mum didn't work, so dad sold paintings.

Work breeds a bit of work sometimes. If you're in the right place at the right time, that can lead to other things.

I did a bungee jump in New Zealand even though I'm afraid of heights - it's good to step outside your comfort zone.

I mean sex can be funny for heaven's sake.

I spent nine days shooting the film 'Camera Trap' in Nepal in 2014. The journey consisted of four flights, including a terrifying one through the Himalayas in an 18-seater plane which landed on an icy runway, then a 4x4 ride to a lodge at the foot of a 400-year-old mountain village. The villagers were the kindest people I've ever met.

Every actor knows what unemployment is like, and knows what long periods of unemployment are like, unless you're spectacularly lucky.

Some of the best jokes are about funerals or people dying or whatever. Laughter and tears are two sides of the same coin.

I always considered myself working class, because I was brought up on a council estate. I still do, really. I mean, I might have a bit more money now than I did then, but it's in your head, class, I think. It's how you feel in there.

I do a good cold, hard stare.

I take each job on its merits. If a job's good, and it's worth doing for the reasons you want to do it, then I make that decision at the time.

Actors are used to staring at the walls waiting for the phone to ring. It's not unchartered territory for us.

I loved the pace of life and the majesty of New Zealand. It's similar to Scotland - but feels newer.

Certainly with stage, as I'm remembering, you don't get to spend any time at home. With film, you might do three, four days a week, and they might not be full days. So that aspect of it was a consideration. But I also just wanted to try different kinds of working.

I spent the first 10 years of my career playing psychotic Scotsman. I'm still playing psychotic Scotsmen really, they've just become a bit funnier.

There's nothing quite like being able to get into the minds of other people, and figure out how they work, and what makes other people tick. And going against your own grain sometimes, to push yourself into places you wouldn't go emotionally.

I tend to keep my love of heavy metal under the radar.

I think all children love to dress up and play make believe. It's just that I never stopped.

London and the surrounds are a great place to be. It is a great part of the world.

I grew up watching 'Porridge' and it's so loved, it was a daunting prospect to take on. Fortunately, it was written by the original writers, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who are comedy gods.

According to a lot of people I am in everything and they're sick of the sight of me.

I have lived in England for a long time. And I love it.

I started writing my own symphony. I wrote about a page and a half. My mum and dad took it into music class and gave it, pleased as punch, to the teacher, Miss Montgomery. She played it on the piano for them. So I think they're the only ones that ever heard it.

I don't usually turn down work, it usually involves a very big debate with agents and family and your conscience and your sense of panic. But it is the only power we have, as actors - to say no.

Crime makes for great drama and it's interesting because it delves into the darker side of us. Those kind of stories go way back, the detective and the criminal.

I had a cat called Pushkin when I was growing up.