Why and how did you become a director?

I think it was an accident. I was studying architecture, but I liked films very much and in the last year I decided that for my graduation thesis, instead of doing a project or a paper like my colleagues, I would do a documentary on architecture. So I bought this videocamera - at that time, at the end of the 70s, there weren't many videocameras around - and I decided to do this documentary and that's how I got involved with telling stories in images and sound. I kept doing experimental videos and I moved on to television, for 10 years, and then from TV I jumped to commercials and from that to films. I never really had time to work as an architect!

So would you have been an architect if you hadn't been filmmaker?

For sure. I love architecture, but I've only done two or three projects in my life - my own house, my sister's house and the company where I work, all the renovation, but just that.

And now you're building stories...

Now I'm building stories, yeah. I think my architectural skills help me with films. I see the structure of the films in a very clear way. I see the structure more than dialogue or characters - I see blocks of things. I see it as a graphic thing.

Which other director would you most like to see at work?

Michael Winterbottom, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh. Those three. Because the way they work with actors, doing some improvisation, those three are really references for what I do. I'd love to really watch them working: what they say to the actors and how they prepare their scenes.

Which directors do you consider the most underrated and overrated?

I'm not going to fall in this trap!

What was the last movie you paid to see?

I saw two Brazilian films last week, but I didn't pay to see them. I was supposed to watch Lord Of War in Brazil with my son, but then we had a late lunch. So I want to pay to see Lord Of War. The composer is a friend of mine, he did City Of God. Oh and I want to see Wallace & Gromit!

What was the last movie you walked out of?

I never walk out. But I sleep - a lot. I have no problem with taking a nap. If the film is boring I may sleep for 40 minutes and see how it gets. There are some films I regret sleeping through and I go again and I sleep through again and then I even try, sometimes, three times! There's probably some psychological reason: there are these films which I try to see but I get sleepy.

What's your favourite quote from a movie?

"Nobody's perfect" - the last line from Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot.

Do you believe that test screenings are a good idea?

Depends on who you have with you. Testing The Constant Gardener with Focus on board was a very helpful experience for me.

How seriously do you take reviews?

When it's positive you become too proud of youself, and there's the risk of believing that you're the one. If it's negative you get a bit depressed. So I decided not to read reviews anymore. At least not the reviews of my work.

Do you believe in God?

No, not in the way I was taught. But I believe in an energy, something that controls and runs the universe, everything's connected to everything. But I don't believe in a personal God, somebody who's looking at you or punishing you or rewarding you.

What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? And the worst?

Best: "You only regret for what you didn't do." From my grandfather. The worst: "It's an easy film to shoot..." Easy films do not exist!

Who's the most famous person in your contacts book?

I don't know. I have a lot of famous people in my contacts book... The cast of this film, for instance, Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.

What the dumbest question you've ever been asked?

These are difficult questions! There's one question, it's not dumb, but it's a bit annoying, people asking me, "What first attracted you to this project?" Every time someone interviews me and asks that, it's a bit annoying. Just when you hear the same thing over and over...

What's your biggest regret?

I always regret things I was planning to do that I didn't do. I don't regret anything that I've done. Even the stupid things that I've done I've learnt things. It's painful in the moment, but you learn things. So I only really regret what I didn't do.

There are five minutes left to the end of the world. What do you do?

I think I would stay quiet, with family, and try to find a bit of peace. That's it.

What performer would you really love to work with?

Gary Oldman. Where is he? I haven't seen him...

He lives in LA and he's bringing up his kids as a single dad.

I'd love to do something with him. And Rachel Weisz sent me a couple of Ali G DVDs. Fantastic! This guy, if I ever have a part for him as an actor, amazing! He's a good actor, not only very funny, but very subtle sometimes. Really good. So, Gary Oldman and Ali G - Sasha Baron Cohen.

What are you three favourite films and why?

Three is hard. Give me 300! I know the three films that impressed. There's a Brazilian film called Iracema (1976), which is a fine docu-drama about a young prostitute, a 14-year-old in the Amazon. This was the film that made me decide to do films. There was a film called Fata Morgana [aka Lessons Of Darkness, 1971], a Herzog. It's fantastic. So many films! Three is not fair! You know, I like the Trilogy Of Life from Pasolini, especially Arabian Nights (1974). It's as human as it can get! But it's unfair to say only three! It's very unfair!