The actor, 56, on growing up in Ruislip and Baghdad, becoming famous in Lord of the Rings and falling in love with mountaineering
I grew up in a combination of suburban Catholic Ruislip and Baghdad. My mum, who is 50% Iraqi, lived in Baghdad with my three older sisters until I was born. My father, who was a doctor and 100% Iraqi, stayed in Baghdad to build a hospital, but we used to go and visit every summer. I’ve never been a typical Iraqi. My mum brought us up to think of ourselves as British.
My last memory of going to church was on Christmas Eve, when I’d had one too many advocaats and I ended up walking up the aisle with a kebab to take communion and being told to leave. That was pretty much it for me. From that point on, religion seemed a bit pointless.
