I think we are all insecure, and there is nothing wrong in accepting that. But the problem arises when we try to counter this insecurity by cultivating this illusion of control, and we start taking ourselves and everything we know too seriously.

I remember when the results of the All India Engineering exams came out. I ranked 7th. I even got a scholarship. But it was during the sixth semester of my engineering course that I decided to call it quits and pursue acting seriously.

I have songs that define characters from each film of mine. It can be a song from that particular film or something that just goes with the wavelength of the film; you listen to it, and it gives you that rhythm. I can't articulate how it helps, but it somehow gives you an understanding of the character.

It took me 13 months just to prepare for 'M.S. Dhoni'... I started by watching every single video I could find of his, repeatedly. After three months, people who met me started saying that they could see similarities, and I knew I was on the right path.

I was the youngest child and the only son. I was expected to shine in academics. It seemed like too big a risk to take up cricket as a career. I thought I had to live up to my family's expectations. So I chose to be an engineer.

The equation I share with the camera doesn't change whether you place a camera in front of me or a live audience. Just the pay cheques differ. But that doesn't matter to me because I've so much money, I don't even think about it. It's just lying there.

Bringing out your vulnerable side and shedding your privacy in front of complete strangers is so very difficult, but when you are into the performance, the relief and release is so extraordinary that you get addicted.

There are so many ways to approach a character. You have to figure out the similarities between you and the character, build on them, and at the same time, blur the dissimilarities. Since you do it day in and day out, it becomes a process and a part of you.

What people think of me doesn't affect me. As bizarre as it sounds, I don't have a Google alert on my phone; I don't read newspapers, and I don't watch television. If something important happens, I will get to know about it.

I really wanted to buy a Range Rover. It was a big dream, and the day I bought it, I was very happy, but by evening, I was immune to it. That's when I realized that excitement, if it's happiness, is not in reaching the goal but in the process. Thus process trumps over realization.

For me, the script is important. If it excites me, I'll do the film.

People assume that actors working in films won't have the time to do theatre. But I make sure that whenever I'm free, I watch a play.

It's cruel to compare two actors working with two different filmmakers on two different characters.

Before the film begins shooting, in your head, you need to be the character. You have to convince yourself somehow.

I can also romance a guy if I like the character and the script. Obviously, only in the film!

When I am not acting or performing, I want to keep quiet and not to have a conversation.

I wanted to be a cricketer. But I was not skilled enough to be a national-level cricketer.

Cricketers have to perform in front of millions, and there are no retakes. If then you become a hero, you deserve all the accolades coming your way.

Our job, as actors, is not to tell the audience how interesting we are, but to entertain them with our films.