Dominic West webchat – as it happened

Thank you all for your kindnesses and rudenesses. I've really enjoyed it. I hope you can get along to see NT Live on Thursday. Keep it real. Protect and serve.

Unfortunately I think he's comparable to most of my modern characters! I hope I'm not getting into a rut. I read a lot about the Marquis de Sade, who was a preoccupation of Laclos, and like Valmont, had a warped view of love, caused by a deeply scarred childhood. Also like Valmont, he has a thrilling mind.

Yes, as often as possible. He and Sonia are godparents to my kids, and if they happen to see this, we're still waiting for Christmas presents.

Good God. You're right. Separated at birth. Maybe I could play him in the live action movie.

I believe so. I've never seen more than one at a time. Actually, that's not true.

I don't know. But these are for your narrow Irish arse.

He does pretend to die. And when we shot the scene with me lying supposedly dead on the pool table, Bunk got me drunk on whisky, assuring me all I had to do was lie there. Then the director suddenly zoomed the camera into my face and insisted I open my bloodshot eyes.

Yes! Great question. I have Kirk's silver caped leotard which I occasionally bust out to embarrass my kids at the school gates.

The best thing a director can do is be really efficient with the camera, but I also rely on a new director's fresh opinions about my character, particularly in a TV series. The best direction I've heard is: remember the camera can read your mind. It's a useful tip to stop you indicating.

I'm pretty certain we'll be back for season three, with Noah likely to be behind bars. I just hope someone doesn't put lipstick on him and make him his bitch.

I am planning to climb a holy mountain in India called Deo Tibba (20,000 feet), and be the first person to fly off the top with my friend, Jim, with whom I made a documentary about the Kumbh Mela called West Meets East. He's a paragliding champion as well as being a Sanskrit scholar and yogi, so I follow him around in the hope of gaining enlightenment.

I was really hoping to play Richard III in Hull next year, but it seems there are scheduling difficulties. I love going home to the north because audiences there are so much more intelligent, and enthusiastic.

This is the best question I've ever been asked. Yes of course I have it written into my contract. How else do you think I maintain such consistency of arseholery?

I never tried speaking with a Baltimore accent, because I was told it would sound too comedic. Like playing Brummie in Out of Hours, a show I did on the BBC, which I was also not allowed to do. However, the two phrases I most wanted to use were: "Are yew gowna see the Oroles?" and "How much? Tew do'ors!"

I decided to do the brothel bust sounding like Steve Irwin because I was always being asked in Baltimore if I was Australian, and I thought: McNulty might well confuse Australian for English.

You should not have missed Othello in Sheffield. It was far better than the one in London. Things in Sheffield usually are. Clarke was amazing, and so was I. If Iago wasn't so soul-destroying I would have loved to have played him again in the West End, but those parts really can start to get you down. They start to influence how you behave in real life - for instance, I am constantly hatching mischievous plots since I started playing Valmont.

I'm incredibly keen on Jennifer Lawrence, but I think my all time favourite would be Gena Rowlands. She has such a smoky charisma, and a ragged vulnerable soul.

I directed an episode of The Wire, and a drama for the BBC, and really enjoyed the experience. I would love to do some more but I think The Affair is too intense an acting experience to be able to direct as well. Also Jeff Reiner does a fantastic job on it. Directing really informs acting - it makes you aware of how many other elements go into a final screen performance, and how much less work the actor has to do than we often imagine. I have a tendency to overact, so this has been good for that.

I adore both Martin and Andrew and would love to act more with them in the future. We have played brothers at least twice, although they're both starting to look a lot younger than me now.