Dex appeal

Many women I know would saw off a limb for an offer like that. He has female fans tucked away everywhere.

But the point is, that despite appearing with Hollywood A-listers, mixing with the beautiful in-crowd in London and having thumbs in many pies, he's still totally personable and immensely likeable.

He says that having been acting since the word dot (he was in Bugsy Malone aged six with Jodie Foster) his longevity has been both his downfall and the making of him.

It means he's been a household name for 36 years, but it also meant he grew up in the spotlight and had no idea who he was.

His lowest times, when he went bankrupt and was found living in his car, were perfect tabloid fodder. And yet he managed to sort himself out and come back bigger and better than ever.

Which is why the last few years have been so kind to him.

From Kylie videos to Guy Ritchie movies, Hotel Babylon to this year's hit film Stardust with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, gigs with Divine Comedy and now a dance piece at the Oxford Playhouse, he's busy, in demand, and loving every minute of it.

"Yeah, random is a good description, but as for Reading Rooms at the Playhouse you won't see me in spandex I'm afraid," he laughs, "although I might manage a D&G suit. I'm just the narrator you see."

And with that he launches into a long luvvie speech about how he got involved with Reading Rooms, which has something to do with his opera-directing wife, The English Patient and London dinner parties.

"And of course I don't get asked to do Beckett very often so it's not an opportunity I want to pass up," he concludes.

"Of course not," I say, pretending to know what he's talking about. "Is there anything you do pass up though?"

"The reality shows and the quiz shows. But then you've got to earn a living."

And Dexter is earning a very good living at the moment, managing to pack in performances in Stardust and Robin Hood during the five months off between filming series two and three of Babylon.

Yet, having had a long period "between jobs" in his late 20s, he'll always be insecure about work.

"Well, it took me a long time to grow up," Dexter says out of nowhere.

"I was floundering for a long time. I just didn't know where I fitted in and made my own rules.

"But when the work grew thin on the ground I finally had time to withdraw and think about who I wanted to be. Because when you're acting you're always pretending to be someone else and it took me ages to realise you can be who you want to be. But I'm 42 now, have an eclectic CV and don't like to be pinned down, that's what works for me.

"As for my happiness, I've got a strong, healthy relationship with my wife. We've been together for 15 years now and it's a good marriage and I count myself lucky in that respect," he says proudly (sorry girls).

Dexter says he had no idea that Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels would be so big "because 90 per cent of small British movies sink without a trace" and that Hotel Babylon was "like alchemy. You know what all the ingredients are but still don't know what you're going to get and if it's gold then fantastic".

And now Hotel Babylon is his bread-and-butter.

"Well, I've turned my character into a strong reliable man with a strong moral compass, and I haven't played that before. So if they want to keep making it, I'm in. There are exciting times ahead."

"Is that what the doctor concluded?" I ask cheekily. "He did actually," Dexter says grinning. "And he said I was remarkably trim." I'll bet.

Dexter will be appearing in Reading Room, a new full-length performance piece that looks at the connections, disconnections, pacts, secrets and lies that underpin most human interactions, which comes to Oxford Playhouse tomorrow and Saturday. Box office on 01865 305305.