Steven Berkoff, 71, is an actor, playwright and founder of The London Theatre Group. His film career has included roles in A Clockwork Orange, Octopussy, Beverly Hills Cop and The Krays. His plays and adaptations include East, West, and Messiah: Scenes from a Crucifixion. His adaptation of On the Waterfront, in which he plays Johnny Friendly, is now on in the West End. He lives in London with his companion, Clara

It was my desire to explore and find new things that led me to travel the world; that, and an overwhelming desire to escape from a dull and depressing England.

I knew as soon as I stepped off the boat at Le Havre, on my way to Paris, that the variety of life the world had to offer would inspire me for ever more. The strange little houses, the wonderful taste of French coffee and croissants. It all seemed so much more exciting than my staid home life.

Unlike most actors, who once they’ve made it tend to stay in London, I’ve spent the best part of 20 years touring because I believe that it’s the only way really to see the world. By performing in venues such as the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, one of the oldest theatres in the world, I’m plunged into the heart of Italian culture and history, which, as a tourist, I’d only ever skim the surface of.

My hols: Michael Caine

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My Hols: Anastacia

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• Frequent flyer: Erin O'Connor

BACKGROUND

• My hols: Phil Daniels

• My hols: Roger Moore

• My hols: David Mitchell

• My hols: Tracey Emin

• My hols: Colin Firth

BACKGROUND

• My hols: Ricky Gervais

• My hols: Sam Robards

• My hols: Jimmy Carr

• My hols: Johnny Vegas

• My hols: Moby

One of the most fascinating places was Jerusalem, which I visited when I was directing a play in 1980. The old city is quite spectacular and to walk through its little pathways is almost a hallucinogenic experience. There was a tremendous communication between the Arabs and Israelis, and it was quite something to watch the Orthodox Jews lining the Wailing Wall to pray.

Staying at the American Colony Hotel was like going back in time to the 1920s age of Arabism. The scent of myrrh would waft through reception, and waiters would pour tea at a great height from silver pots. The breakfast table featured every colour in the chromatic scale, unlike the greyness of the prison food served in English hotels, and I would spend hours consuming the cheeses, fish and pickled cucumbers, while writing poetry in the courtyard.

A few months later, I took a train across Europe to Athens. My lady friend suggested we go on to Skiathos, but as we were queuing for the ferry, the young lady in front of us, who had a backpack stuffed with guidebooks and looked like a knowledgeable traveller, asked for a ticket to Skiros. It wasn’t an island I’d heard of, but it was the adventure I was looking for. So without even consulting my companion, I booked us on the same boat.

I spent the long journey fretting over whether I’d made the right decision. As we disembarked, a group of crowing women vied to offer us a bed for the night. I quickly scoured the faces, looking for the cleanest and most wholesome, and she ushered us up some steps and into a room with two single beds and a plain stone floor. I looked out of the window, but all I could see was night. We were woken by goat bells the next morning and I cautiously went to the window, not really knowing what to expect, but the vision was just extraordinary. The hills stretched out ahead of me and the sparkling Aegean Sea nestled in the distance. It was paradise.

If I want to be really well looked after, I head for St Lucia. When I first visited the Caribbean, I couldn’t believe how, just by a plane journey, the world can change. I felt like I’d landed on another planet. The heat and the smell filled me with a strange sense of awe and wonder.

St Lucia has a very exotic terrain, and wherever you stay, you’re surrounded by rainforests and overlooked by the Piton mountains, which resemble Madonna’s breasts in her Jean Paul Gaultier bra. We love Anse Chastanet, because there are no phones, no TVs and no glass in the windows, so the birds fly in and out of your room at will; there’s not even a door on the bathroom, so you have to get used to the lack of privacy pretty quickly. But you are truly indulged there.

The ocean around St Lucia is filled with the most extraordinary wildlife. Swimming didn’t get me close enough, so I enrolled on a scuba-diving course. The first time I started to breathe underwater was the most astonishing feeling. I felt like I’d gone back hundreds of millions of years and turned into a fish. It’s one of the few times that I can forget everything else and appreciate and enjoy what’s going on around me.

Steven Berkoff talked to Sandie Jones

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