Actor Joseph Fiennes, 36, is best known for two things: looking good in a pair of tights in Shakespeare In Love opposite Gwyneth Paltrow; and the fact he is one of Ralph Fiennes' five siblings.

He is reunited with Paltrow in his latest film, Running With Scissors, in which he plays a schizophrenic. On release in January, it is based on the best-selling memoirs of the author Augusten Burroughs.

What is your idea of heaven?

Cooking dinner with a group of friends in my kitchen in Notting Hill, West London. I'd love to cut down on coffee, but it's my one vice, so it's not too bad.

With whom would you like to be stuck in an elevator?

My girlfriend. She's the mysterious woman in my life.

What makes you angry?

Parking tickets - but not a lot else. I'm definitely growing more mellow as I grow older.

When it comes to your emotions, are you an open book?

If you don't experience the wonderful extremes life throws at you, then you can't really bring them to your work.

So I guess, yes, I have to be readily available when it comes to my emotions. I've always got an antenna up.

I'm fascinated by the human condition — especially my own.

What were your dreams as a child?

Acting. I was around the age of eight or nine when I was picked up by the ear and put in a play. I knew from that moment on that's where I belonged.

But in terms of a dream, I was a bit of a terror when I was a child and simply wanted to be more terrible. I just loved to tear it up, to be outside and play games.

What makes you happy?

The simple things in life, but don't ask me what they are. My nieces and nephews make me happy no end.

I love running riot with the younger generation of the family. Making them laugh always makes me laugh. A bit corny, but it's true.

Would you rather be rich and famous or poor and anonymous?

Can you not be rich and anonymous or poor and famous? I'd like to swop it around the other way.

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Both. If it's a heavy night, then I'm a night owl, but if I've got agendas and I'm not burning the candle at either end, then I'm an early bird.

Your biggest extravagance?

Spoiling my nieces, nephews and godsons.

Greatest regret?

I don't think I have any. I've never regretted a film role I didn't take or one I did take. I'd like to think I've got enough time right now that I can challenge my regrets.

Do you think you are more like your mother or your father?

I'm more like my mum. Both of my parents were artistic, but my late mother was more creative, so I'm more like her in that way.

What turns you on?

Coffee - especially when I have to get up and start work on a film set at the crack of dawn. It switches me on rather than turns me on.

Your guilty pleasure?

Coffee.

In relationships, are you the one who always says goodbye or is it the other way round?

I'm always working and catching planes, so it's more like: 'See you later.' I don't like to say: ' Goodbye.' Sounds too final, doesn't it?

Can you relate to your character in your new film?

Not really. The film (Running With Scissors) is set in the Seventies, so maybe I can identify with the pair of flares I had to wear. Rayon and polyester is as near as the identification gets!

Do you believe in therapy?

I don't believe in shortcuts. We're in that age where prescription pills are readily available for every possible illness.

If you need pills to function and have a life, then I'm all for it. But the other side to that is the people who have been crippled by drugs. So I'm afraid I'm not really sure what the answer is.

What did you take away from this film?

I took my flares, leather cap and leather waistcoat.

Was your handlebar moustache real?

Oh yes, it was homegrown. That didn't belong to the studio — that was all mine! Growing it was pretty horrendous. No one recognised me. I actually bumped into John Madden (the director of Shakespeare In Love) and he didn't know who I was. I could tell he was carrying on the conversation, thinking: 'This is a really weird guy. Who is he?'