Portrait of the artist: Sam West, artistic director
'My tip for a young actor? Keep solvent so you don't have to do rubbish'
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| 'Some of my best friends are computers.' Sam West. Photograph: Martin Argles |
What work of art got you started?
Seeing my mum and dad [Prunella Scales and Timothy West] doing Love's Labour's Lost when I was six.
What was your big breakthrough?
Six days after I left university, I auditioned for a film called Reunion, directed by Jerry Schatzberg with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. I got it, and it went to the Cannes film festival.
Who or what have you sacrificed for your art?
I haven't started a family. That's the main thing I don't have in my life that I would like.
Does an artist need to suffer to create?
Yes. Ow.
If someone saw one of your performances in 1,000 years' time, what would it tell them about the year 2007?
I hope it would remind them that there's no us and them. It's all us.
What one song would feature on the soundtrack to your life?
Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric. The first line is, 'When I was a young boy my mother said to me, there's only one girl in the world for you and she probably lives in Tahiti.'
Have you done anything cultural lately?
I saw Phyllida Lloyd's extraordinary Opera North production of Peter Grimes twice - one of the best things ever.
Do you like computers?
Some of my best friends are computers. I couldn't do my job without them, but it stops short of liking.
Is the internet a good thing for art?
It's good for research and telling people about things that are happening, but it stops them actually experiencing them live.
What's your favourite film?
At the moment, 12 Angry Men, because it shows democracy in action.
What's your favourite museum?
Sir John Soane's in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. It's a magic box full of weird cupboards and unfolding walls.
What's the greatest threat to art today?
A culture that defines us by what we buy and consume, not by how we behave towards each other.
What advice would you give a young actor just starting out?
Join the union, keep solvent so you don't have to do rubbish, try to be happy at your colleagues' success and remember that writers are the real stars.
What cultural tip would you give to a tourist about Britain's arts scene?
Don't just look for it in London.
What work of art would you most like to own?
Anything by Bridget Riley.
Complete this sentence: At heart I'm just a frustrated ...
DJ.
In the movie of your life, who plays you?
Me, or John Inman if I'm not available.
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
My dad told me: 'Try to put yourself in the way of surprise.'
Born: London, 1966
Lives: Between Sheffield and London
Career: Has performed in Hamlet for the RSC, Antony and Cleopatra for the National Theatre, and in films including Howards End. Currently artistic director of Sheffield Theatres. His production of As You Like It is at the Crucible this month.
High point: 'Playing Hamlet at the RSC for more than a year.'
Low point: 'One review of The Romans in Britain, which I directed, was unjustifiably cruel and knocked me down for a long time.'
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