Chiwetel Ejiofor thinks he's a loner.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who starred in Steve McQueen's '12 Years a Slave', says he's become more ''self-reliant'' as he's got older.

And asked if he considers himself to be a loner, Chiwetel said: ''Yeah, I think so. I love the company of people. But ultimately I feel like I'm self-reliant, yeah.

''I think I've always been that way. I don't think I've ever required the company of people, in order to feel good or to feel access to the world. It's something that to me, when it's good, it's a bonus. Like great art or great music - it's nice that it's there. But if it's not there, y'know, it's not like everything falls away. I can completely exist without it, be satisfied and happy.''

However, Chiwetel admits he continues to use his mother as a sounding board for advice, because of their shared life experiences.

He told the Guardian newspaper: ''As I get older, and she gets older, it put us in similar places in our psychology, I think. I'm always very interested in her point of view, because often it echoes mine. Not because 'the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree', but because of that echo in our experiences.''