After 40, you want to reverse the ageing process. That's complicated for me because I spent so many years wanting to be older.
I think any good actor is an anarchist. They have to be.
I did some martial arts training for 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,' since the character was an assassin.
Well, you know, it's fun to sign autographs still for me. I don't sign that many.
I think of myself as a journeyman actor. I've got some talent and I work hard, but people like Brando or Pacino - those people are touched by God.
One thing that bugs me in comedy is when somebody does a fake cry, you know, like they fake cry in a comedy. But in a drama they'll really cry. That bugs me.
Clark Gregg and I are around the same age. He has been an actor and is a writer. But with a first-time director, there is a way to talk about things they might not know. Because Clark was an actor, though, he knew more about the process than most first-time directors.
I took a break after 'Confessions.' I was real picky. And then I suddenly realized I hadn't worked in a year. And I was sort of, like, not really happy. I think people are happier when they have structure, you know? You realize that as you get older. You have to have rituals and structure.
I had those kind of parents where I watched all of these very sophisticated movies: 'Five Easy Pieces', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'
I used to break dance. I can do some good James Brown footwork. But now I think I've danced too much. My girlfriend made fun of me: 'Enough with the dancing.'
I've studied a technique called the Sanford Miesner technique, that teaches you how to focus. It's mainly about daydreaming. And the technique's really about imaginary circumstances. Using your imagination to sort of daydream about stuff. It makes you emotional in a scene.
Good acting is good acting, however you learn it. Some people who haven't studied are amazing. Some people like Leonardo DiCaprio are naturally gifted - he's learned technique by working with people early on.
I try to steal from the best. Suck it all in. 'Taxi Driver' is really a bible for film actors, a master class. A lot of emotional power, a lot of emotional depth but it's contained and you just see the tip of the iceberg.
I think a lot of theater actors that were great, like Walken or Glenn Close, later became film actors.
I have memories of films that nobody ever saw, that I was very proud of, and those are still great memories.
It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.
I do everything I can to have a diverse career because I just want to have options. I know that I can do Hamlet or I can do Stanley Kowalski, you know.
I've done so many independents for so many years. Leads that nobody's seen.
Anjelica Huston and Kelly MacDonald are both really special. Anjelica has such a fresh point of view about acting and doesn't seem jaded at all. She seems more like a student and yet she is veteran actor who really brings it.
I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.
