A veteran performer of British stage and television, Bill Nighy has starred in a variety of films, from "Still Crazy" to "Lucky Break". In "I Capture the Castle" - an adaptation of the much-loved Dodie Smith novel - he plays frustrated novelist James Mortmain, a once-famous author suffering a 12-year bout of writer's block since finishing his first novel...

Had you read Dodie Smith's novel before you were offered the role?

No. But I met lots of women who told me it was in their top five novels of all time. Which made me rather nervous, especially because I was playing a man who's supposed to be brooding and charismatic... all the things I know I'm not! That's enough to put the wind up any actor who's got any sense. But I've met several people since who are devotees of the book who have seen the film, and none of them have hit me!

Mortmain's quite a weird character. Was it a fun part?

It turned out to be one of the nicest jobs I've ever done, not least of all because I play a genius who's surrounded by beautiful women who worry about him a lot... tough gig! And it was filmed in the summer in beautiful castles all over the countryside. Like I say, tough gig.

This is slightly different from the usual British costume drama...

My motto during the making of the film was: "This is not a period film." That was my bumper sticker to myself. There's a certain style - in the same way that there's a certain style of playing Shakespeare - that's tempting to fall into when you're making a costume drama. I didn't want to believe that this was just a cute romance, I think it's a little drier than that.

Do you think it'll go down well in America?

I don't know. It's a big question, and it's unfortunate that we need to ask it. I wish sometimes we had a different language. The French can't cross the Atlantic with their films because they speak funny. If we spoke funny, maybe we'd have a better film industry.

You were in the BBC radio version of "Lord of the Rings" as Samwise Gamgee. What do you think of Peter Jackson's films?

I haven't seen them. Someone told me Peter Jackson distributed copies of the radio version to the cast and crew. And since I get 0.00001% in royalties every time someone buys the CD, I've been getting £40 instead of £20 over the last couple of years!

Your next film, "Underworld", is slightly different, isn't it?

If you're in the market for a vampire-werewolf movie, look no further than "Underworld"! There are some very funky things in it and it's going to be great, not least of all because it stars Kate Beckinsale in a black, wet-look jump suit running around decapitating monsters!