Think how small the Beatles pool was - meeting each other, I mean. They were just four local boys. Now, you would go on the Internet to find your drummer. The Beatles would not have been the Beatles.

AUTHOR NICK HORNBY

I went to an audition. The moment I went on stage, I knew I couldn't be in the front line, so I went backstage to be a director.

DIRECTOR HOU HSIAO-HSIEN, who once dreamt of having a singing career

I'm like someone who's been a carpenter all his life and now can be absolutely relied on to make a really good chair. It will be comfortable to sit on and won't collapse under you.

ACTOR IAN MCKELLEN on ageing as a performer