I don't have a story about an epiphany in which I suddenly realised I wanted to be an actor. It was much more a case of the idea dawning on me gradually.
I'm always amazed when any actor can decipher my direction.
I've been working steadily as an actor since around 1998. I wasn't well known in the public, but I was a dependable working journeyman.
It's the life of an actor to always be questioning, always be wondering. There is no occupation in the world less dependable.
Johnny Depp is probably the best actor.
Michael C. Hall is an incredibly detailed actor who can convey so much with just an eyebrow.
There is such a thing as my kind of actor, and how well they pull off my dialogue is a very, very important part of it.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a very serious young actor.
You know I am an actor, and I have medals for diction.
When I'm a director, I look at myself the actor as a completely different person. It's somebody else up there, an actor playing a role. I keep myself out of it.
I love to play different roles. That's just the kind of actor I am.
Any actor wants to do interesting roles, different roles. It's not all that much fun to do the same thing over and over again.
I find dipping one's toe into all of these people's lives is one of the major exciting points of being an actor. This dilettantism.
My parents said, Oh, he's going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor.
To be a Dumont actor was considered to be a great honor for an actor, yet it also had its disadvantages.
There's the most resistance to an actor singing. It's like I'm being disloyal to my industry.
The knighthood was a tremendous honour, I don't dismiss it. But I feel embarrassed by the flowery, theatrical stuff that goes with being an actor.
Being an actor, you are recognized for being somebody else, whereas these books are distilled from me.
The Hollywood model is to develop scripts for 10 years, sell them, transfer them, attach this actor, then attach a director. This isn't what I'm about. I'm much more of a creator and a doer.
An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a doughnut.
