How do you feel about doing interviews?
I used to be really nervous. You go through a stage of being blasé about them but then you get stitched up a couple of times and you realise that you are dancing with the devil. The thing that frightens me is that people really believe what they read. I went out with my brother once and he said: 'Where is your Afro?' I said: 'What the f*** are you talking about?' He'd read it in The Mirror. They took a picture of me having a bad hair day and reported that I had an Afro. I've not got an Afro.
Do you think you have been portrayed as a bad boy in the press?
Yes... but as Oscar Wilde said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. You take it in your stride. Having said that, I hate it when the paparazzi hide in a bush while you are doing DIY and then publish a colour spread saying, 'Nick Moran's career is over.' I think, 'Why? Because I'm fixing my car?'
How did your life change after Lock, Stock? Could you still go down the chippy without being recognised?
The UK is great, especially London, because everybody is too cool for school. There is nothing I don't do. I still get on the Tube, buy cheap food in the supermarket and leave my pants on the washing line. Fame has never really affected me. My life has not changed at all. My career has, but not my life.
Do you enjoy being recognised?
Sometimes - but I always seem to get recognised by the wrong people at the wrong time. If I ever try the 'don't you know who I am?' trick, I get: 'Yes - you're an arsehole,' as a reply. When I do get recognised, it's usually when I'm drunk as an arse, dribbling, or I've just trod in some dog shit. You never get recognised when you are looking good.
Do you keep in touch with the boys from Lock, Stock?
I went out with Jason Flemyng on Saturday and I also saw Jason Statham recently in LA. We do see each other now and again. We had a very intense year of being together - it was like being in a band. We were the Spice Boys and we went everywhere together. I did everything and met everybody, from the Dalai Lama to Hugh Hefner. I got up to some amazing antics. It was great fun but I've stopped going to the opening of an envelope now because I was turning into Christopher Biggins.
Have you got any dirt on Guy and Madonna?
No! I got a postcard from Guy a while back, but I don't get to see him that much. People get married and have kids and you don't really see them any more and when you're married to Madonna, obviously you can times that by a million.
Was John Hurt totally brilliant to work with?
He ia a hilarious guy and a brilliant actor. He recently asked me to put him in touch with my estate agent because he was looking for a place in London. He rang me and and said (in very convincing John Hurt impression):'I want a utility room, 2 bedrooms and some sort of patio.' I was like: 'John, I am not an estate agent.' I have nothing but time and respect for him and that generation of actors. I exercised a lot of humility with John.
What actors inspired you as a child?
I love the '60s bunch such as Richard Harris, Tom Courtney, Alan Bates, Michael Caine and Albert Finney. They are all my heroes and I have been lucky enough to work with a few of them. They put British film-making on the map.
Do you want to go to Hollywood?
I've been there a few times. I did The Musketeer, which was number one at the American box office. But the American films I've been in haven't been as good as the English ones that I've done. No one at the moment is going to give me a lead in a really good American film, whereas I keep getting great leads in really good British films. I don't want to be a British baddie in a low-rate movie. As much as no one ever sees the f****** films I do, at least they get five-star reviews. There's a difference between doing quality stuff that doesn't get much exposure and doing over-exposed, cheesy stuff that doesn't make you feel good as an actor. I got sent the script for the Bulletproof Monk and I was like, 'This is bollocks. Who is making this shit?'
Tell me about your most recent project.
I'm working with Acuvue on a film which is a bit like Pop Idol for actors. A bunch of people audition for six roles in my new film... and I'm like the Simon Cowell. Acting is about telling a story and if you can tell a story then you can act. It will be good fun to find someone and turn them into a performer.
Is it true you are mates with Kevin Spacey? How did you meet him?
Kevin is a really good friend of mine. We met because he was a big fan of Lock, Stock. I got a letter from him saying 'well done' after he saw the film and then he invited me to the premiere of American Beauty. When I got there he told me that when his character, Lester, gets his second flush of youth, he asked his make-up and costume people to make him look like Nick Moran. He had a Nick Moran wig made and wore a polo shirt like I did in Lock, Stock. I was the inspiration for Kevin's head in American Beauty. We have some hilarious nights out... he puts on a baseball cap and we go to some shitty pubs and get pissed. He is so talented and funny.
Do you think of yourself as a sex object?
No way. Anyone that does needs to get out more.
What do you think is your sexiest feature?
My shoes!
You went out with Denise Van Outen for a while. Was it difficult being in such a high-profile relationship?
I don't think it was that high profile because we never went anywhere. We used to get drunk and go to kebab shops. It was a very normal relationship. She is terrific... I could never say a bad word about Den. I wish her all the best in the world and I'm really proud and happy for her.
Are you single now?
Oh yeah.
Who is your ideal woman?
I have always fancied a young Joanna Lumley or a young Julie Christie from Doctor Zhivago. I also loved Ursula Andress when she stepped out of the sea in Doctor No.
What about personality?
It wouldn't really matter if she looked like Ursula Andress. She could be a Nazi and it wouldn't make any difference.
You were voted the Most Stylish Man of the Year by GQ and Sky Magazine. How important is fashion to you?
That was great. I got a whole load of free suits sent over. It was fun, but fashion really isn't that important to me. All the films I have done have been really unflattering roles and I've had to play geeky ugly people in cheap Burtons suits. I did the flashy cool thing as the lead in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. Now I like the idea of being taken seriously. It's style over content... I just have to work on the content now!
Is it true you were once the understudy in Blood Brothers. Can you sing?
I am the only Cockney to have been in that show. I turned up and pretended to be from Liverpool for months. I was only 20 then and I had the lead in the show for three months. I do still sing though. I do a great Frank Sinatra... better than Robbie Williams. I also love Tom Jones. I have a fantasy that I'll be sat at the MGM Grand one day watching Tom and he'll have a coughing fit and they'll make an announcement to the audience asking if anyone can sing. I'll get up and bring the house down.
What's your ideal film role? Would you like to be considered as the next James Bond?
I prefer the idea of being the next Harry Palmer ['60s spy played by Michael Caine]. I wouldn't turn down James Bond but it's not a sensible idea. I'm 5ft 10in and always pissed. What sort of James Bond is that?
