Up early? Always, at 5.45am. It’s a good time to catch up. Few people phone – email, text… I’m always behind.
Breakfast? I’ve started every day the same for 10 years: an orange, a decent pause, then some Bulgarian sheep’s yoghurt, and oats. I look forward to it enormously, and sometimes dream of it.
Out of the house? Rarely. I read the Observer and the Sunday Times. It gives me satisfaction to eviscerate them. I’m not interested in sport, buying a house, or going on a diet, so I end up with the stuff I’m actually going to read.
Sunday brunch? My husband, Sebastian, is a wonderful cook. I usually step aside. But for brunch I’ll do scrambled egg with crème fraîche, butter and chives, with smoked salmon and sourdough toast, which is met with approval.
Any housework? We have a delightful woman called Mimi who comes once a week, but during lockdown, when Mimi was unavailable, we would set to work every Sunday. I enjoyed it more than Sebastian. I used to work as a cleaner during school holidays, and still find it gratifying.
How do you unwind? Almost certainly by watching the television. Then I tinker and prepare for the following week. If I’m writing, it may involve reading. If I’m acting, it requires a lot of learning.
Sundays growing up? Dominated by Catholicism. My mother was a very enthusiastic – if not fanatical – Catholic. I was an altar server, but fell out of love when the Latin was dropped in favour of the vernacular and I realised what I’d been saying. Then I pretended to go to church but didn’t, and would meet my mother afterwards as if I’d stood at the back. I did a lot of dodging of religion.
Love or hate Sundays? I used to detest Sundays, so I would get out of the house as much as I could: a party would be wonderful, or a show in the afternoon. But I increasingly find that Sunday is a wonderful point of stillness in the week, and that’s only going to increase with age.
Simon Callow’s new film, The Pay Day, is on digital download from 5 December
