Richard Roxburgh

Richard: I don't really have preferred roles, except those with some complexity. If you're playing a villain, you like to have a rationale. Why is this person behaving in that way? It can't just be 'I'm going to kill them all, I want to take over the world!' Because then your character becomes a functionary, the hero's opposition and nothing else. You can't derive any pleasure from that.

Richard: (On working with Hugh Jackman in "Van Helsing") A really funny bloke. I can't imagine Hugh will ever not be a thoroughly solid and grounded person. He's incredibly focused and supports you, but he challenges you in a way too, because there's no backing away from him. In the scenes between us, we're toying with each other. There's a quietly creepy sense of menace underneath, and he never backs away from that.

Richard: (On doing the Dracula accent in "Van Helsing") God, that was a balancing act. We settled on an accent that was largely Hungarian with some Romanian elements to it. The trick was avoiding the Sesame Street Count.

Richard: (on working on the movie "Van Helsing") Apart from the fact I met my wife on it, this film was a really fulfilling and creative experience. Much more than I expected it to be. I mean, Draaacuuuula!

Richard: (On working with wife Silvia Colloca in "Van Helsing") Yeah, I had to make sure she liked me besides the hair, earring and being dressed head to toe in black. We got beyond that stage, but she was still holding a candle for me when I went to pick her up... after hours.

Richard: (On his performance of "Hamlet") I was performing Hamlet in the nude. I couldn't find my costume. I had forgotten all of my soliloquies and was making up Shakespeare on the spot. Then I woke up, thankful that it was just a nightmare and realised that I actually couldn't remember the soliloquies.