DANIEL MAYS

It's something I have always tried to do in my career - play outside the box.

Everyone's got that dream of Ibiza, you've either been or you want to go, because it's kind of got this mystical quality to it.

A lot of the work I've done has been about being very raw and open with your emotions.

I worked on 'Line of Duty' with Vicky McClure after she'd just finished the last series of 'This Is EnglandI think the great thing about 'Ashes To Ashes' is that it is very much its own show. and I kept nagging her to find out how it ended.

My older brother's a cricket groundsman, my other brother's a salesman, and my younger brother's a trader in the City.

I couldn't believe how big Ben Affleck's trailer was. It was like a spaceship - I remember thinking, I'd live in that.

I think the great thing about 'Ashes To Ashes' is that it is very much its own show.

God, I've played a lot of policeman.

My son and I discovered Parkland Walk with the Beavers, a gem of a trail from Highgate to Finsbury Park in north London.

I'm just drawn to something that has a good story. 'Outcasts' didn't do so well, but I really admired the premise behind the show.

At drama school I learned the Stanislavski technique, which uses sentimental memories and bits of your past to put real emotion into the scene.

I got an American agent. I don't know what to think about that.

I've never been burgled. I don't quite know what I would do if it was the dead of night and there was someone in the house, and my kids were asleep upstairs.

Everyone's life is extraordinary if you look at it closely enough.

I've become a lot more politicised because of Brexit.

Kids have got such active imaginations and they're scared of so many different things.

Sundays are a day for recuperation and family.

I like to be in character a good few hours before I arrive for filming.

When I was 13, I was a member of a women's over-40s tap class.

I eat porridge all week, but Sundays are for something more exciting. I make a mean fry-up - to be honest that's pretty much all I can cook.

I certainly always do draw upon stuff in my life. You do that instinctively as an actor.

I guess I'm always drawn to the underbelly of someone, really, as opposed to how heroic they are. I don't judge those sorts of people.

I went to stage school, I went to Rada, I've been in this London bubble for as long as I can remember, which is involved with being as inclusive and accepting of any people from different countries, different walks of life, different religion - that's who I am.

I listen to music to try and focus or concentrate on emotional characters, which is quite common among actors. It might seem cheesy, but I particularly listen to Coldplay because I'm moved by their lyrics. But any music can help depending on the character and their mood.

I try to mix the characters up and not be second guessed by the audience.