Peter O'Toole gives awesomly candid interview about The Tudors

As if he weren’t great already, and we know he is, Peter O’Toole just opened the vault in this interview he gave to TV Guide about playing Pope Paul III on The Tudors.

There are only three questions, but he manages to answer with more panache than any other actor I’ve read about in ages. Read the highlights after the jump.

Photo: Jonathan Hession/Showtime

• On why he signed on to the show, which he said is beautifully written: “Pope Paul III was the greatest thief in the history of the church. The guy skinned ‘em!”

• On being raised in the Catholic Church: “Unfortunately, there were some wonky priests who tried to touch you up. … It was abominable. I was lucky; I wasn’t touched by it. The hard kids put a needle in their jeans so that when the priest went to touch them they got a nasty shock.”

• On the state of acting: “Acting today is s–t. … The power (of the actor) has been taken away. There are only three indispensable things: the audience, the actor and the author. The rest is dross.”