My great-grandmother was born in London, the daughter of a Brixton coachman, and became the most famous singer in Australia. Her name was Marie Carandini, Madame Carandini.

On the Italian side, we can trace the family back 2,000 years. I have a cousin in Rome, a famous archaeologist, Count Andrea Carandini, who was in Lombardy and came across some pottery with the original name of the family, Carandinus, painted on it.

There is something sad about malevolence, to be wicked. I have always tried to make that come across in the villains I have played.

'The Impossible Dream' is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songs ever written. Here is a man, an old man, a very old man full of daring, bravery, courage, determination, romanticism and dreams.

I wasn't a spy. I'd have been spotted in five seconds. Yes, I was in intelligence, but that covered a multitude of things.

Ian Fleming was my cousin, you know. He was in naval intelligence.

The secret to a long marriage in the film industry? Marry someone wonderful, as I did. And always have her come along on location.

I associate heavy metal with fantasy because of the tremendous power that the music delivers.

Acting as a profession came to me by chance: in 1946, after the war, I was having lunch with my cousin, who was the Italian ambassador, and he asked, 'What are you going to do now you're out of uniform?' I said, 'I'm pretty inventive, and I can imitate people,' and he said, 'Have you thought about being an actor?'

It's what you don't see that keeps you on the edge of your seat in any kind of film - leave it to the imagination of the viewer.