Robert Webb

(on learning about magic when he made the film "Magicians")
Robert: We got to find out how lots of stuff works, but we promised not to tell anyone. Mainly because it's boring. When you find out how something is done, you just go: "Oh! Is that it? It's just a trick!" And it's usually something very simple. It's a colossal anti-climax. But I certainly learnt to respect and admire all the sleight-of-hand stuff, it's really impressive to me, having tried to do one simple thing, and how many hours of practice has gone into that. It can be a really beautiful thing to watch, that level of dexterity.

(on obesity)
Robert: I disagree that it's generally acceptable in this country to be prejudiced about the issue of obesity. It's important to at least acknowledge your own prejudice if you are going to be any sort of decent human being and do something about it.

(on the Neil LaBute play)
Robert: The thing about Fat Pig is it's less about Tom falling in love with a large girl and how he won't admit to his work colleagues that they are an item; it's more about the problem of being a shop-window liberal. We like to think that if we fell in love with someone who was larger, older, disabled, or the same sex, that we could walk down the street with them hand in hand and not give a monkey's. Sometimes it's a much bigger battle than that.

(on his personal beliefs)
Robert: I was a swaggering atheist until my mother died, when I started to pray. It was a denial of her absence – a way of communicating with her. As I began to co-exist with the loss, my faith left me; it outlived its usefulness. Lately, with the help of Dawkins, Hitchens et al, I've returned to total non-belief. I don't know how long it'll last, but God, it's good to be back!

(on why there are no plans to stop making "Peep Show")
Robert: We would like to keep going for as long as we possibly can because it's rare to find something that works like this. There's lots of ideas for sitcoms but not many of them work. We've always wanted to keep going.

(on his ambitions)
Robert: I would love to be a Bond villain. But even more I would like to be a Dr Who villain. Even if it was just a short Cyberman, I would jump at the chance.

(how he has stopped socialising with his comedy partner, David Mitchell, so they aren't overexposed to one another)
Robert: Of course we don't avoid each other in a stupid way. We've got the same friends in the same part of London, like some horrible, cloying Friends-style social scene, so it would be crazy to walk out if the other comes in.