Portrait of the artist: Douglas Hodge, actor

What got you started?

Being able to impersonate more or less anybody. The only way I survived at school was by doing impersonations of teachers and pupils. That led to me winning a talent competition when I was 16; the prize was three or four gigs in working men's clubs. I was just showing off: at the time, I thought that's what acting was.

What was your big breakthrough?

I've been waiting for that.

You've had a huge variety of roles, in everything from Shakespeare to Pinter to musicals. Has that been by accident or design?

Design. I've always tried to bury what I've just done in a very shallow grave, and then do something different: that's how you keep excited and stretched. So I spent 10 years more or less just doing Pinter, and then went off and did Guys and Dolls and lurched into the world of musical theatre.

What have you sacrificed for your art?

Christmas. When we did La Cage [aux Folles] in New York, we had a show on Christmas Day; in the UK, you often have two shows on Boxing Day. I resent having to spend Christmas going to the theatre.

What's the worst thing anyone ever said about you?

The review I've been most offended by came when I played Hamlet. I'd always prided myself on being an "invisible actor", and not getting in the way of the play. But this review didn't mention me once. That's worse than being insulted.

Which other artist do you most admire?

Damon Albarn. Blur were the real thing, and he's continued to experiment. I think he's truly gifted.

What's the last book you read?

Peter Ackroyd's book about the Thames. I've been doing a little project with my 11-year-old son, Charlie: we're canoeing from the source of the Thames to the Houses of Parliament. It's taken us three years so far, and we're only half way.

What advice would you give a young actor?

Don't do it unless it's the only thing you can do.

What's the biggest myth about acting?

When people go on about "having to make brave decisions", and all that nonsense. It's not that difficult, acting.

What one song would work as the soundtrack to your life?

He's Misstra Know It All by Stevie Wonder. I think I know it all, but nobody else seems to agree with me.

CV

Born: Plymouth, 1960.

Career: Many performances of Harold Pinter's plays; roles at the National and RSC; and an Olivier award-winning turn in the musical La Cage aux Folles. Stars in Inadmissible Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 (0844 871 7624), until 26 November.

High point: "Winning a Tony [award]."

Low point: "Working with egos so huge I could hardly bear to come to work."