"Family, generations, hero worship, a classic American landscape and anti hero… Paul Newman, a lead with no arc. A bastard, an ass, a great character who never wavers in his ornery and despicable ways, yet I loved him. Great example of how brilliant drama can happen even if the lead character never changes. P.S. – Patricia Neal, “You want an orange? I’ll peel it for ya.” Wow."

"Why Five Easy Pieces? Also an anti-hero movie. Jack Nicholson is not necessarily a likeable character, but you can’t help wanting to root for the guy. Especially at the end when he goes to the bathroom and hops in a truck and just takes off. For some reason you still like this guy who leaves his girl sitting at a gas station."

"This book is the best insight into unknowable Russia, a country I’ve been fascinated by since I studied its language and literature at school and university. It’s the pretend biography of a real-life Russian contrarian, poet, politician, anti hero and punk, Edward Limonov, whose life has shadowed Putin’s and who is now one of Putin’s biggest apologists. It’s a totally brilliant, badass book."