Nigel Planer: my heroes and heroines One of the world's best actresses, she's played everything from a mute village girl to a brothel owner. Every time it's a complete transformation. She's done a lot for Indian parallel cinema, she's active against sectarian violence and she's also stunningly beautiful. Unlike most columnists, Simon doesn't think along ideological, dogmatic lines; he keeps his mind alive. He's very astute, with a knack of saying what I think I was thinking. It could be just that he's brilliantly persuasive, but I agree with him 95 per cent of the time. Ian McKellen For a classical actor, he's unpretentious: he's taken on panto, Corrie and Gandalf. He's also dedicated to improving working conditions for actors. George Planer Some people lose their memory with age: my dad's the opposite. He's memorised his phone book and taught himself Polish. He's a brilliant, clever man. Nigel Planer is in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London; charlieandthechocolatefactory.com; 0844 858 8877 Nigel was speaking to Sarah Royce-Greensill