Born in Carnoustie, actor Ian McDiarmid is renowned for his extensive work in the theatre, both on stage and as a director. Having attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974. In 1990, he took on the role of co-artistic director of the Almeida theatre along with Jonathan Kent. During their 12-year tenure, the pair were credited with reviving the small north London venue by bringing high-profile actors including Kevin Spacey, Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett to the stage for a series of critically acclaimed productions. In 2002 he won a Critics' Circle award for his performance in Brian Friel's Faith Healer, earning a Tony for his reprisal of the role on Broadway five years later. McDiarmid has also made numerous film and television appearances and may be best known internationally for his portrayal of Palpatine in the Star Wars films. He is currently starring in Stephen Sachs's Bakersfield Mist at the Duchess theatre until 30 August.
Festival: Edinburgh International Festival
I've read the centrepiece to this year's festival, Rona Munro's bold and effervescently modern James plays – a landmark for the National Theatre of Scotland and, in a tense year for that country, a gratifying collaboration with the English – I mean, British – National Theatre. They are wonderful plays and it's very bright of Laurie Sansom, artistic director of the NTS, and Sir Nicholas Hytner, who runs the National, to collaborate on plays that are about the history of Scotland. There wasn't much culture in Dundee, where I grew up, so my annual boyhood trip to Edinburgh on the train was a big treat and it opened up a whole world of theatre to me.
Book: About Modern Art by David Sylvester
This is a series of essays on modern art which I've got at home and, as I'm currently playing a Jackson Pollock obsessive [in Bakersfield Mist], I picked it up again. I was reminded how, sometimes, a passionate critic can really get to the heart of the matter. I am a fan of modern art, increasingly so, although I came to it fairly late. I discovered this book through my fascination with Francis Bacon. I wanted to know more about him and David Sylvester did a brilliant series of interviews, some of which are published in this book. He managed to get Bacon to reveal how he went about his work. He couldn't be further removed from Pollock in most respects, but he does have many paintings which also rely on "the happy accident".
Magazine: London Review of Books
I like the London Review of Books because it encourages and gives space to the extended essay. It's a welcome antidote to star ratings and bitesize blogs. There are lots of articles that I could pick out but Andrew O'Hagan's recent disposition – I think I'm allowed to call it that because it goes on for pages – on the adrenaline highs and lows of ghosting Julian Assange really gripped me. The people who write for the London Review of Books write intelligently and originally. It's all about good criticism and being given the space to do it – I'm sure that many critics would agree that this is essential, and doesn't happen as often as they would like. It's a good read.
Theatre: American Psycho
A rare example of a book and a film being improved by a theatre production – and a musical, at that. Rupert Goold and a great cast took us on a pulsating, high-definition, Dostoevskian quest – a lot of people disagree with this, but I think he did make it deeper and more interesting than the original novel. I thought Matt Smith was triumphant in the lead role; I knew he was as good a stage actor as he is on screen and it was great to see him as the charismatic centre of the evening. Rupert will take the Almeida in many directions, so it's always going to be a theatre that surprises us. He looks at things from different angles to most people and, as a result, casts a refreshing light.
TV: Utopia
Utopia is Dennis Kelly's black Channel 4 series and it really pushes boundaries. It's filmed in wide-screen and its use of colour is quite extraordinary. It's about a graphic novel and, within that novel, there are various links to a government organisation which may or may not be behaving badly. It's very witty and funny, but also quite violent. It has great acting and I think it merits comparison with the best American long-runners. It's full of regular astonishments in the way that Breaking Bad was. My most recent astonishment – spoiler alert here – was to find that I'm now in it! I'm in series two, which will be shown later this year. It's sparky, it's original and it's highly entertaining.
Dance: English National Ballet – Lest We Forget at the Barbican
As you might imagine, I'm in favour of the performer as artistic director. Tamara Rojo's recent commission of the dynamic trio of Liam Scarlett, Russell Maliphant and Akram Khan confirmed to me that humans can fly. She wanted to commission choreographers to devise pieces that would reflect their feelings, and hers, about the first world war. She's taking a company with a very strong classical reputation and is building on that, and changing its direction. She's not abandoning the past and throwing everything out of the window, and I think that's good. There's something about being a performer that gives you not only knowledge and expertise, but also a wonderful shorthand with the other artists.
