Realising that two people become a third thing. I take on some of her characteristics and she takes on some of mine. It's like having a full-length mirror in front of you all day long.

...WHY WOMEN FIND YOU SO IRRESISTIBLE?

I'm not your typical guy like Brad Pitt or George Clooney. I'm not a real man's man. I think women might have that looking-after-me thing.

...HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

When the ritual becomes a vigil, it's time to quit; if one is too many and a thousand is never enough.

...WHY YOU HAVE HUGE AMOUNTS OF LEMON IN YOUR DIET COKE?

There's almost no amount of lemon that's too much for Diet Coke, but if you go past the 50/50 mark you might want to pull back.

...WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

The idea of having mastered my own life. I also think commitment is really scary as I'm a bit of an escape artist. To trust somebody is terrifying. I wonder if I'm more afraid of harmony than discord, as clearly I haven't had trouble with things being chaotic in the past.

...WHY YOU LIKE INDEPENDENT WOMEN

I'm all for self-reliance, but it's important that Mrs Downey allows me to do stuff for her, like carrying her bags at the airport. It's not that don't think she can do that for herself, it's just that I want to do it for her. It gives me a certain pride.

...HOW TO POACH AN EGG?

I do good eggs. I make a nice oatmeal and egg-white frittata. You throw in a little cinnamon apple sauce and cottage cheese, then make it to the consistency of a chewy granola bar.

...WHERE YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY WILL BE?

It's going to be at a campground near Santa Barbara - it's my son Indio's annual school campout. They said: "Mr Downey, we request that this year you don't bring a gargantuan oversized RV. This year bring a tent and bring it in the back of your car like everyone else."

...HOW TO DO A MAGIC TRICK?

Yes, I learned one from Indio. You take a napkin, hold it in front of the person you're doing the trick for, then make the middle of the napkin move away then back towards you. It looks like you're blowing on the napkin, but what you've actually done is you've taken a fork, which you're holding loosely on the inside, and you're pushing the napkin in and out.

...WHAT THE CRAZIEST THING IS THAT YOU'VE EVER DONE?

Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at 12,000 ft because a couple of buddies wanted to go skydiving.

...WHAT'S THE MOST MONEY YOU'VE EVER SPENT IN ONE NIGHT?

We bought a house in Malibu. We paid the down payment and then went to dinner at Nobu, which cost almost as much.

...WHAT'S THE MOST ROMANTIC YOU'VE EVER BEEN?

Just recently. We were in St Barts. We had some times where we would just peel off and do our own thing. We were so at ease with eachother. Indio was taken care of by some friends of ours, so I was less uptight and I was able to really focus on Mrs Downey's pleasures.

...WHEN YOU LAST DANCED?

At my wedding. We did two dances, one to a U2 song and then 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel. We held hands and danced in a circle. It was fantastic.

...WHEN YOU LAST CRIED?

At my wedding ceremony. It was when I made my speech, which was something to the effect of I feel like I've been looking for her since I was a kid. I can't even talk about it now. I'll start crying.

...NOW THAT YOU'RE 40, WHAT THE MEANING OF LIFE IS?

I'll go with the old Buddhist standard, which is I don't know, there fore I sit.