Cultural Life: Mark Gatiss, actor

(JONATHAN EVANS)

Theatre: 'Legally Blonde' is an amazing show. Slightly forgettable movies can sometimes make great musicals. The same thing happened with 'Hairspray', which is an ordinary film but a brilliant musical. 'Legally Blonde' has the perfect plot and Sheridan Smith is exceptional.

Film: I've been revisiting a lot of old horror films I haven't seen for a long time, as well as some old Mario Bava films I haven't watched before. I'm looking forward to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's new film, 'Paul', out next year.

Television: My favourite show at the moment is '30 Rock'. It's a work of absolute genius; more jokes per 22 minutes than you can shake a stick at. I've also become horrifyingly converted to 'The X Factor' for the first time.

Books: I'm looking forward to reading 'Members Only' by Paul Willetts. It's about the Raymond Revue Bar in Soho and the life of owner Paul Raymond. Willetts wrote a fantastic book a few years ago called 'North Soho 999' about Fitzrovia just after the war, which is absolutely fascinating. He shines a light on all these forgotten stories.

Visual Arts: I'm very much looking forward to seeing The Glasgow Boys exhibition at the Royal Academy. I love going to galleries, particularly the National Portrait Gallery.

Music: I am obsessed with a song called "Being a Dickhead's Cool" by The Grand Spectacular. It's one of those occasions when something is so perfectly executed that I didn't know what to do with myself when I first heard it. It's brilliant, nailing that fashionista/Hoxtonite thing. Now The Beatles are on iTunes I have found myself revisiting their music. I walked into the National Theatre the other day listening to "She's Leaving Home" and cried. It's perfect.

Gatiss is currently appearing in the National Theatre's production of Alan Ayckbourn's 'Season's Greetings' until March 2011