"I wear two wristwatches - one for local time and one set at the hour my father died"

After many much publicized liasons with the likes of society beauty Phillipa Egret, film producer Tiff Mummery, 'chick-lit' author & TV presenter Clodagh Sponge, and president of the Royal Society of Arts Ulrika Johnsson, Tony finally married the actress Hooley Glamis in 1999 and they have three children. They divide their time between a 40-acre Lutyens estate in Surrey, Tony's Richard Neutra house in Los Angeles and a villa in Tuscany. Tony is at pains to keep his family life private, although recently there was a commemorative issue of OK! entirely dedicated to his daughter's third birthday party.

Tony preparing for a new role: "When studying a new part, I have to forget who I am. I submerge myself in the character, surfacing only to tuck my children into bed".

Tony the collector: "I live a quiet life. I'm not drawn to glitz. My idea of a great evening is staining a piece of furniture in my workshop".

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Is it true that your children are called Windfarm, Tofu and Bubblejet?
A: [laughs] No. My children are called Aspen, Cosima and Knut.

Q: Is it true that you were in a punk rock band in the 1970s?
A: Not exactly - it was in 1981, we were called 'Astrid Proll' and we tried to combine the satirical attack of the Berliner Ensemble with the wit of Stephen Sondheim and the electronics of Thomas Dolby. We played the LSE at least once.

Q: What does it take to become an actor?
A: Dedication and sheer bloody hard work. I once spent three weeks as a short-order chef at a restaurant in Fulham whilst I was between theatre jobs - an experience like that toughens you and helps you focus on what your real purpose in life is.

Christmas Concern: "It's up to you what Santa brings little Kwame this year."

Q: What's your favourite role?
A: I love them all, but I must say I found the part of Coriolanus very stimulating when I played it with the RSC. I also enjoyed playing Waldo, the disturbed Vietnam veteran in David Mamet's Fuck the Wound.

Q: What are you working on right now?
A: I'm actually recording a Simon Brett comedy series for Radio 4 with my old chums Bill Nighy and Celia Imrie. It's a wry look at life with a disabled relative. Rosemarie Leach is in it too.

Q: Do you have any cherished projects that you are yet to realise?
A: I am hoping that I will soon be in a position to produce, direct and star in a full-length adaptation of Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson.

'Et in Arcadia Ego'

Q: What makes you happy?
A: The knowledge that I might have made a difference. If I can make the world a better place, be it with an audience's rapture, a child's smile or a changed social condition, then I feel my life will have been worthwhile.

Desert Island Disc choices:

• Walton's music for Olivier's Henry V ("I saw this when I was seven and I knew there and then what my life should be")
• Adam Faith Runk Bunk ("reminds me of my mother")
• Bob Dylan Tangled up in blue ("it seemed to describe - with uncanny accuracy - my life in the mid-70s")
• Toyah Wilcox It's a mystery ("an anthem for 80s Britain and fond memories of her and Derek Jarman")
• Aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations ("Minghella used this so beautifully in Truly, Madly, Deeply")
• Jamie Cullem These are the days ("a new artist I admire very much")

• Sting Precious ("we had tea on his lawn, discussed the struggles of the Peruvian throat singers and then he played this to me")
• The Specials et al Free Nelson Mandela ("Because I am, above all, an iconoclast whose job is to confront society with the issues it needs to face")

• Book: Gurdijeff's Meetings with remarkable men
• Luxury: "I'd like to take the nude family portrait I recently commissioned from Nan Goldin".

"I'm not primarily known as a comic actor, but I like to think of myself as one. I've recently been watching DVDs of Chaplin's masterpieces with the kids, and they've started running around shouting 'Charlie Chap!' - and I'm delighted".