Alfred Molina "disappointed" his late father by turning down a job in a restaurant to pursue his career as an actor

He told Vanity Fair magazine: "I was a good waiter to the point where the management offered me the chance to do a two-week management training course.

"I turned it down because I got an acting job. My father says, 'This acting job, how much are they paying you?' I said, 'I'm getting union wage, so 15 pounds a week.'

"He looked at me and he had the look on his face that you reserve for the mad and the lost. He stared at me like he didn't recognize me. The only thing I could say to him was, 'This is what I love, Dad.' He never quite got it.

"I did disappoint my dad. Yeah. If my dad had lived a little longer, he'd hopefully would have realised I hadn't wasted my time."

However, Alfred later found out his dad had been following his career closely because he stashed a suitcase full of press clippings about Alfred's acting work.

Alfred added: "When he passed away, I went to Spain for the funeral and I was with his widow, my stepmom, and she drags out this suitcase and it's full of clippings and photos and bits from magazines and letters from people that wrote to him saying they saw me. He kept all this stuff, but he never talked about it.

"My stepmom said, 'Do you want any of this?' And I couldn't handle it. I said no."

The actor concluded by insisting he talks more openly with his own children about their hopes and dreams and makes sure he tells them how "brilliant" they are, adding: "That's all you need to do."