Since the children were small I've spent most of the year in Provence. I don't need an alarm clock there, but I do if I'm away doing a film, a play, or the Venice Film Festival. I never like to say where the house is exactly; it's near Aix-en-Provence. And no, I don't know whether the people nearby know who John Malkovich is. We live in an old farmhouse in a valley, with mountains on a couple of sides but very distant. It's just beautiful and quiet, and from the house you can see for ever.

In the morning I'll usually work in the garden. It's hard to be proud of the garden because it's been destroyed three times - every time we've done rebuilding work on the house. But I grow a lot of nice roses, and the garden is more English cottage style than a regimented French thing. I have some great Italian tomatoes, the san marzano variety, and pimentos. And herbs, lots of them. While I'm gardening I wish I could have invented the perfect product for weeds - that way I'd be rich and I'd never have to work again. And often I think how old I am, because my knees don't work. When I was young I could dig a ditch all day; now nothing works, things just hurt. The kids never help me with the garden. Their school life is charged; it's a long day. They almost always have to study when they come home.

When we're at home, we really have a tendency to stay home. Because I've had to run around so much, I'm not the most outing-oriented parent. As a kid I always had to go camping, canoeing, hiking, walking, looking for wild flowers or arrowheads. In any case, my kids have plenty of things to do: we have a big yard and land where they can walk and ride their bikes. There's a basketball court and a pool.

Sometimes I'll spend my morning going through a screenplay or a play - often with the writer, who'll come to stay. But whatever I'm doing, I'm thinking I've got a lot to do, that I'm always behind. I don't know why. I suppose I'm never where I am, really. Lunch is usually made by Nicole. She's Italian, she's a good cook, and I would have been a great sous-chef on a short-order boat. We both cook a lot. I make very good pasta, with sauces that violate all orthodoxy. I do pasta with, say, ground sausage, mustard, capers, raw tomatoes, garlic and basil.

For some years I've got into the habit of sleeping after lunch. In the south it can be very hot, and there's often the mistral, a hot, strong wind. My siesta doesn't last much more than an hour, because there's always too much noise. The kids hate it when I take a nap. They wake me up.

The rest of the afternoon often means more work. I do my best to work from home, as far as preparing films or plays is concerned. I can spend weeks and weeks with a writer working on a play. Those who are with my production company, Mr Mudd, usually live in London, so it's easy for them to hop on a train or fly here.

For me, the toughest thing about being a father is being away a lot. Since Lowrie was born, I've never had to spend more than three weeks away at a time. But three weeks is a long time for a kid, and for a father too.

When I look back on what I've done, I'm not proud of anything in particular. I've done interesting performances in the theatre, mostly many years ago, and I've done a few good films. When I'm watching a film and I'm on, I'll look at something else. I irritate myself. I think I lack the requisite qualities to get worked up about it. I don't see it as me - meaning this is a person I share a name with, who has a certain job and is thought of in a certain way, or in differing ways,or is not thought of at all. It's not as if I'm going to learn anything from watching myself. What you did in film A wouldn't happen in film B or C, because they're all different. I don't think you can control these things much, and I try not to worry about something I can't control. What would I like to do over the next few years? I'd like to quit smoking. I suppose I'd really like to live. I'd like to keep working, to keep doing things I'm interested in. Dinner is often a big meal with friends who come from Paris, Spain, Italy, the States, all around. Mainly for Nicole's sake - that's what her social life consists of. She's exceptionally solitary. I could say antisocial.

I never have any problems going to sleep, ever. I always read myself to sleep. My last thought? Maybe that I should have a last glass of wine.