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I shot my first lion at the age of 14 when a pride threatened my father's livestock while he was away on holiday.

My first day at MGM they decided to bring this lion out, male, and it was not the best time for him to see me. All of a sudden he thought I was in heat and this lion went into the dressing room, which was just a trailer on the sound stage, and went crazy.

'The Lion' all began with a picture of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself, 'Let's try to make a story about it.'

There is something really mysterious about lions. They could rip you apart if they wanted to, but at the same time they look so cuddly. Can you imagine what humans look like to animals? They must think we're so weird.

After The Wizard Of Oz I was typecast as a lion, and there aren't all that many parts for lions.

My parents used to take me to the pet department and tell me it was a zoo.

I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people.

A lion is not a lion is not a lion. As individuals, as mates, as members of a society, they're all very different.