Cultural Life: Paul McGann, actor

McGann says: 'I resent almost all of the time I spend in front of the television, but I find 'The Only Way Is Essex' absolutely riveting' (PA)

Theatre: I saw Mike Leigh's 'Ecstasy', which featured some fantastic acting from Siân Brooke and Sinead Matthews. The second half of the play follows a piss-up in a Kilburn bedsit; it's some of the best drunk acting I've ever seen. Whatever Mike Leigh does, it works. When I was in New York I saw Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' on Broadway. Brian Bedford's portrayal of Lady Bracknell was a real crack!

Television: I resent almost all of the time I spend in front of the television, but I find 'The Only Way Is Essex' absolutely riveting. Film I don't get to the cinema as often as I would like to, but there's some great stuff on at my local, The Ritzy in Brixton. I saw the screening of Murnau's 1927 silent movie 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans', with live music by Neil Brand on piano. Similarly, I recently saw 'The Passion of Joan of Arc', accompanied by music from Goldfrapp's Will Gregory and Portishead's Adrian Utley. It was just fantastic.

Music: Rediscovering music through my music-loving sons takes me back to certain things. Old Detroit hip-hop is just fantastic; we went to see a J Dilla tribute evening in Kings Cross earlier this year, which was amazing. I was also excited to see the I'll Be Your Mirror festival, curated by Portishead, at Alexandra Palace last month.

Books: I've recently read Paul Broks's 'Into the Silent Land'. It's a challenging but genius account of a clinician and his search for consciousness. I've also recently finished Daniel and Gabriel Cohn-Bendit's 'Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative'. An account of the May 1968 unrest in France, it's an inspiring yet chilling read.

'Butley' is on at the Duchess Theatre, London W1 (0844 412 4659) to 27 August