Nothing has been more detrimental to me than to be considered a symbol, because I never stood for any of that... The civil rights movement thought they would do me harm over the years by disassociating themselves from me. Well, nothing in the world was more to my advantage. I was never one of them... I had my own divine mission.
My father was a civil servant in northern India where I was born. As a boy I saw the dire effects of poverty and illiteracy, especially on women and children. It often seemed that the only thing separating me from them was luck.
How my film career happened, I don't know. It was unplanned. I'd been in films and TV throughout the Sixties and early Seventies, but it was really 'The Naked Civil Servant' in 1975 that put me on the radar.
'The Naked Civil Servant' was as important for me as 'Easy Rider' was for Jack Nicholson. No question.
My father was a civil servant, so having a regular job, being respectable is a big deal for me. Respectable in the sense that I support my family. That's what I mean by respectability.
In Downing Street they called me 'Boss'. Civil servants would always call me 'Prime Minister'.
There are too many countries where the values we take for granted in our civil servants simply do not exist. Seeing these values in action, applied with dedication by hardworking individuals, makes me proud to lead a service that is making life better for millions across Britain.
I actually have videos on my phone of me interviewing people and asking them what they thought of the new Spider-Man in 'Civil War.' They were like, 'Oh he's great. I love him,' and then some people were like, 'Nah, I don't love him. he's not great' - and I was standing right in front of them!
I'm listing to music all the time. I have favorite artists. Kid Rock loves the Civil Wars' song 'Barton Hollow.' We both said that's our favorite country song of the year. That knocks me out.
I think a lot of people, including me, clammed up when a civilian asked about battle, about war. It was fashionable. One of the most impressive ways to tell your war story is to refuse to tell it, you know. Civilians would then have to imagine all kinds of deeds of derring-do.
The word 'art' interests me very much. If it comes from Sanskrit, as I've heard, it signifies 'making.' Now everyone makes something, and those who make things on a canvas with a frame, they're called artists. Formerly, they were called craftsmen, a term I prefer. We're all craftsmen, in civilian or military or artistic life.
It was very clear to me I wanted to be an actor when I got out into civilian life.
All astronauts, even civilians like me without pilot experience, have to learn how to co-pilot a jet called a T-38.
To me you cannot be fully human, fully civilised, unless you recognise humanity in everyone.
I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilised music in the world.
I've always said when age or infirmity gets the better of me, I'm off to whichever civilised country lets the elderly die with dignity.
I sometimes feel that the world is a very uncivilised place where it is meant to be at its most civilised. Where it's meant to be intellectual or artistic or compassionate, it isn't, and that makes me very angry.
When my last relationship broke up, I bought a house one door along from my ex so that our daughter could continue to see as much of both of us as possible. This seems to me eminently sane and civilised.
My hope is that we would begin to have a dialogue in this country about the importance of civility. We can have strong differences, but it does seem to me that most of the country believes it's gone to critical mass in what I would call the professional class across the political spectrum - left and right.
When I sat down to write 'Rules of Civility,' I didn't write it for anybody but myself. I wasn't trying to make my mark or make money. I wasn't anxious about feeding my kids or whether my father would be proud of me.
