My childhood was very gregarious, and I was usually surrounded by close family. Stephen Mangan More Quotes by Stephen Mangan More Quotes From Stephen Mangan I dont like to watch myself on screen because in my mind there is a touch of George Clooney about me, but when I see it, there is more than a little Donkey from Shrek about me. Stephen Mangan mindlittleswatches I had an inspirational teacher at my junior school: Peter Nixon. He was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and slightly scary - a good combination for a teacher. Stephen Mangan scaryteacherschool I enter myself in races. I did a triathlon, and I have done a marathon a couple of times. Stephen Mangan coupledonerace I watch films. I play the guitar: me and some mates - I wouldnt dignify it with the term band - get together and play. Stephen Mangan guitartogetherplay I'm a massive sucker for music documentaries. Stephen Mangan massivesuckerdocumentaries I didnt know any actors growing up. My dad was a builder, and we didnt know any arty types. Stephen Mangan growing-updadactors Theres always an anxiety about playing literary characters because one of the great joys of reading books is that you can create your own vision of things. Stephen Mangan readingcharacterbook Comedy is a very personal thing, and some people will find it funny, some people wont. Stephen Mangan personal-thingscomedypeople I am a passionate believer that comedy is a way of tackling some of the most dark and difficult aspects of being a human being. Stephen Mangan passionatedarkway If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a moody folk singer, sitting on stools and being very depressing. Stephen Mangan singerbeingmoodysitting Dad was a strict disciplinarian and would give us a wallop with a wooden spoon if we were out of order. But we really respected him - he didn't try to be our best friend. Stephen Mangan bestparentingdadbest-friend My mother was gentle and warm. She was the sort of person you could really open up to. I was the eldest and her only boy, so I guess I was treated differently. She did bring me up as a Catholic, and at one time I was an altar boy, but I lost my faith, as did my father, when my mother died at 45. Stephen Mangan mefaithmothertime When I was 13, I won a scholarship to boarding school. My parents let me choose whether to go, and I decided I wanted to. Afterwards, I went to Cambridge to study law - in a way, I was carrying the academic hopes of my family, as Mum and Dad left school at 14. Stephen Mangan parentsmefamilyschool Theatre's a much less faddish, more sensible world than TV or film. Stephen Mangan morefilmtheatreworld I can watch anything from 1970s West Coast rock to 1990s electro-funk - I don't care. Stephen Mangan rockdont-carei-cancare I come from an Irish working-class background but went to a posh school, and any type of pretension was quickly mocked at home. I've always had a keen eye for pretension. Stephen Mangan alwayseyehomeschool My upbringing is so fundamentally different to my parents'. It must be strange to look at your child who not only speaks with a different accent but has a totally different view of the world. Stephen Mangan parentschildlookworld I spent six years touring the world playing Shakespeare, Molire, Shaw, Goldsmith... But I slowly came to realise that the people you are working with are as important as the parts you play, and that there were lots of interesting people working in film and T.V. Stephen Mangan youimportantpeopleworld I thought the best route to being the great actor I wanted to be was to play the great classical parts. Stephen Mangan bestthoughtgreatplay I was in a lot of school plays, and it became the thing I did. Stephen Mangan thingdidlotschool
