I wanted very much to do Traffic and at one point it looked like I was going to work on it. And then, of course, Catherine Zeta-Jones had her relationship with Michael Douglas and it suddenly didn’t happen.
I think I just wanted to work when I finally came to Hollywood. That’s what it was. I wanted to get a job, and then I wanted to get the second one.
My whole life has been instinctual for me. I wouldn’t do well in the computer world. My children look at me for a question and then they quickly look away because they know that I’m not going to know how to make Super Mario or do anything.
The movies helped define how I should be as a person.
When you try to portray people’s lives, you try to make sure you don’t portray them as clowns and that you give them a level of dignity. You don’t try to change their persona, but you try to understand that they had unique problems, set in a century that you don’t live.
I think that you try to raise the bar on whatever you do because you know, in this day of having to deal with a lot of reality TV, people say that scripted programming is dying, so you have to try to create something that can live in people’s minds, long after they see it.
It’s nice to be wanted in almost any capacity.
It’s nice to be wanted. That’s a really good feeling. I’m not immune to it.
I’m a coach’s coaching player. I like to be on the floor. So, if the coach tells me what to do out on the floor, I can get it done. I’m really comfortable being directed.
There’s actually a big difference between story and character. A great story doesn’t make a great movie. A great script, which defines its moments and characters can become a great movie. You can make a movie that makes a lot of money and it may or may not have great story or great characters.
I have a tremendous belief in people, not that people don’t let me down, not that I haven’t maybe let some people down. But I have a tremendous belief in people and in the common experience.
You can spend your life trying to be popular, and that’s a tricky business. You can just try to be true to yourself.
I like being around people that mean what they say.
I feel like I’ve been able to live a dream life, but my view of things is absolutely inside behavior about how I behave and how I count on other people behaving.
Some people come to you because if you’re in their movie, it’ll help them raise money. And some people come to you because they think you’re the person to play the part.
I’ve always been distracted when somebody is coming after me and saying, “You’re the only person who can play this part.”
I was always listening to my father more than anyone. I was always afraid of my father more than anyone. But there’s a moment in time where other men in your life can have a huge impact.
There’s a moment in time where kids really don’t want to hear anything from their parents.
A good idea is something like an emotion, you just can’t keep it in.
Here’s the thing – the accent is cool. It’s like a girl with big breasts – they get your attention first.
You’re just as good, and if you work harder, you can be better and you can be more than you think you can.