Are you a gadget fiend or a technophobe?

Gadget fiend. Hopelessly tech-addicted and a chronic early adopter. I’ll never forget being in Brazil on my dream holiday when Apple announced the first iPhone. I was so excited, I genuinely considered flying home.

Were you a teen computer spod?

Of course. I never had a ZX Spectrum but my friends did, so I’d write a bit of Basic. My programming career ended at Fortran 77, which dates me. People were starting to learn C and I thought: “Nah, I’ll stick with Fortran, that’ll be fine.” Like choosing Betamax over VHS.

You started a PhD in physics but didn’t finish it ...

Thanks for reminding me.

A pleasure. Did that make you an uncool nerd or a sexy geek?

There was no such thing as sexy geeks back then. Even at university, if you were at a party and mentioned you were studying science, people would literally walk off. Nobody hid their contempt. I was early to get a mobile phone, a Nokia in 1997, and passers-by in the street would call me a wanker. Now they’re an extension of our bodies.

Any regrets about pursuing acting and comedy instead of physics?

God no. I’ve always loved science but I was never going to make much of a contribution. I’m better off having science as a hobby. Now I feel like Professor Brian Cox makes programmes just for me.

How has technology changed an actor’s work?

Hugely. I audition over Skype or just shoot myself on my phone and email it. I love the technical aspects of acting on camera. The pace of a film set is dictated by the camera crew. Christian Bale’s famous shouting fit was just an actor getting frustrated by the fact that it’s never about them, it’s about the lights, the lens, the sound. But that’s what I love about screen acting.

What’s the most technologically advanced project you’ve worked on?

TV shows like Primeval and Doctor Who because they use so much computer modelling and green screen. The challenge is to imagine things that aren’t there but I lack that ability, so there’s usually a middle-aged man with a stick pretending to be a dinosaur. On Death In Paradise, I had a CGI pet lizard and had to react to nothing, which was hideously embarrassing.

You’re starring in the WikiLeaks-inspired sitcom Asylum .

I play a government whistle-blower taking asylum in a South American embassy. The issues are about technology, security and freedom. It made me realise that all these big decisions are being taken now and we need to participate, to speak up. Technology empowers us but it also puts freedoms at risk. We need to think very carefully about what we want to preserve.

Do you love or loathe social media?

It’s a waste of time. I was an early adopter of everything from Myspace to Twitter and I think they’re just fads, like CB radio. They’re also selling your personal data. That’s why I left Facebook three or four years ago.

Are you an Apple addict?

Afraid so. I had a Google tablet for a while and I liked it but I keep going back to Apple. I got my first Mac in 1984. I’ve got an Airbook, iPad, iPhone, the lot. I love that blend of technology, creativity and design.

What are your favourite apps?

Shazam’s amazing. Guitar Tuna. But mostly I use the boring ones: banking, train tickets, flights, all that grunt stuff that apps do really well now.

Do you ever use textspeak or emojis?

No textspeak but my son taught me how to use emojis and now I’m like a teenage girl, every text gushing with pictures of ponies and sharks. And inappropriate kisses, but I think that’s being in showbiz.

What’s the most expensive gadget you own?

An Everhot oven. It’s like an electronic Aga with four ovens, so you can cook things slowly, control temperature and precisely time everything. Amazing but horrendously expensive, like buying a car.

Do you ever Google yourself?

Constantly. About six times a day. Any actor who says they don’t is lying, like pretending they don’t read their own reviews.

Have you tried Google Glass?

I can’t bring myself to. It’s the styling – an après-ski look, mixed with Data from Star Trek. I just can’t take them seriously. They look slightly futuristic and that’s a turn-off for me with technology, weirdly. If Apple had made them, they’d look cool and classic, but Google misjudged it. My advice would be to make them wearable outside St Moritz chalet bars. When they look like normal glasses, maybe I’ll be interested. But hey, my mind is still blown by bifocals. And Ceefax.

What’s the first thing you’d make on a 3D printer?

Something boring but useful. Where 3D printing will really come in handy, I think, is the purchase of lightbulbs and screws. Things that are a pain in the arse to track down and replace. Zipper fobs or Allen keys. The little things – that’s where it’ll find its use.

If you could time travel, where would you go?

The 17th century for the beginning of science and the Restoration. I’d get right into the thick of it at the court of Charles II.

What gadget would you like to see invented?

I’m continually losing my keys and glasses, so I’d like the tiniest tracking device attached to them, so I could find them easily. Chip everything, like we do pets. I don’t know why nobody’s done this. It’d save me about 58 minutes per day.

Asylum starts on Monday 9 February at 9pm on BBC4