If you compare me to an actor, I'm probably one of the best boxers in the profession. But if you compare me as a boxer, I'm probably one of the best actors.

It's like all the signs were telling me that I shouldn't be a boxer, so I quit.

I'm not a movie star like other actors in the way that I need to walk with a bodyguard.

And I think it is the genius of actors to be able to escape whatever people are expecting of them. Otherwise you become like a factory worker.

If I wasn't an actor, I think I'd have gone mad. You have to have extra voltage, some extra temperament to reach certain heights. Art is a little bit larger than life- it's an exhalation of life and I think I you probably need a little touch of madness.

My father was champion of North Africa and he beat the European champ. He was very good, a professional for 12 years. We're from a big family of boxers. My father has seven brothers.