Born in Dublin, Aidan Gillen, 49, made his name in Queer As Folk in 1999. In 2004, he appeared on Broadway in The Caretaker and was nominated for a Tony. He played Tommy Carcetti in The Wire and plays Petyr Baelish in Game Of Thrones. His films include The Dark Knight Rises, and his latest, King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, is released next week. He lives in Dublin and has two children with his former wife; his current partner is singer Camille O’Sullivan.

When were you happiest?

I won a local art competition aged 10 – the first time I’d won anything.

What is your greatest fear?

Being tickled to death by large spiders.

What is your earliest memory?

Looking through a veil hanging over what must have been my pram.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Gluttony. I can’t pass a fridge without eating something from it.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

When I was about 15, I ran out into a PE class, but I had forgotten to put my shorts on.

What is your most treasured possession?

My coffin bank. It’s a 1970s money box, and when you put a coin in the right place, a skeleton’s hand comes out and slides it inside.

What would your super power be?

House tidying through telekinesis.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?

Underwater cockroaches the size of hands.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Barry Ward. Or Cate Blanchett. And, for the older version, Kirk Douglas.

What is your most unappealing habit?

I look gloomy even when I’m happy, which comes across as surliness.

What is your favourite word?

Unhalfbricking.

What is your favourite smell?

Chips, salt and vinegar in a brown paper bag.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A stuntman. Evel Knievel was an icon.

What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you?

When I was 14, another kid said: “You really talk too much. Nobody’s interested – shut up.”

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Too Shy, by Kajagoogoo.

To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?

Teachers at my school, for being such a smartarse.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My children.

What was the best kiss of your life?

The first teenage one, which was up against a caravan in County Sligo.

What is the worst job you’ve done?

Cleaning around the feet of John Malkovich with industrial carpet cleaner while he was trying to learn lines in the foyer of a theatre.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?

The floral waistcoat and shocking-pink shirt combo I wore on my 21st.

How do you relax?

Meditation, alcohol, sleep, cycling.

What is the closest you’ve come to death?

Last year, driving in California, I found myself on the wrong side of the road. I was 30 seconds away from hitting two cars coming the other way.

What keeps you awake at night?

Foxes making love: it’s a very unsettling sound.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Pyramid Song, by Radiohead, live.

Tell us a secret

I don’t know what I am doing most of the time.