Success comes in waves. The movie industry is very competitive, and if you're like me and you suffer from your own insecurities about whether or not you're any good, that can be troubling. I became very angry at one point and I had to step away for a year. You can know your own strengths, but until you solidify them with actual evidence you're never fully confident.

People in the UK will never stop thinking of me as Mike from Neighbours. I become less and less tired of it, actually.

I like to think I have empathy. Growing up with a sibling with special needs [his older sister, Tracy, has Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects intellectual and physical development] opened my eyes to things. You think differently when you see how she struggles with the world and the care she needs.

I'd like to go on a spaceship with the three Kates: Kate Bush, Kate Winslet and my wife, Kate. I met my wife [a psychologist] at school when we were 12. I did some steamy scenes once with Kate Winslet. The scenes were fine – it was the going home to my wife afterwards that was the tricky bit.

Having a partner who has nothing to do with Hollywood helps keep things in perspective. Our life is not in any way centred around celebrity, partly because we live in Melbourne and partly because of my reluctance to be involved in it.

Growing up, I was a kid pretending to be an adult. My dad died when I was eight years old, and although I wasn't really mature enough, I stepped into the role.

Sometimes you can be in a really bad film or television show, but everyone sees it just because it's marketed well. It often amazes me, the discrepancy between the standard of a project and the public's perception of it.

I completely acknowledge that having kids has got to be one of the most incredible things in the world, but it's also really hard work. I'm not consistent enough to be a parent – I blow too hot and cold. Kate jokes that we'd end up on the news for throwing a child out of the window.

We're taught to make hay while the sun shines and to take every opportunity that comes our way. But you also need time to rest, otherwise you just become vacuous.

The secret to marriage is being prepared to put your ego aside and say you made a mistake and that you are sorry. When people have small fights and break up, I think it's because they subconsciously realise they don't really want to be together.

It is exciting to win an award, but don't we all have that voice at the back of our minds, saying: "Really? Do you really deserve this? Are you really worth it?"

I have appalling eyesight – even with glasses.

Guy Pearce stars in Prometheus, in cinemas now