My first encounter with Buddhist dharma would be in my early 20s. Like most young men, I was not particularly happy.
Food is the only beautiful thing that truly nourishes.
In a way, one gets stability from being able to order the rational mind.
I’m voting for Gore because the other is unthinkable. Which most of us will probably do. I hope all of us. I’ve always liked Ralph Nader and would like to see a real third party, but the thought of George Bush as president is unthinkable.
One of the joys of being an actor is that you’re always learning new things. And I’ve been doing this since I was 19, so there’s been a lot of new things I have learned for each part. I always assume that I can do it.
I find that you can use an acting technique when the thing isn’t working, not that you make the technique the end result of your work. You use the technique when you’re in trouble and things aren’t flowing the way they should. It’s a way of fooling yourself to make it work again.
I do think that good actors can do any part. It doesn’t mean that they are the best ones to do it.
I think that as human beings we tend to compartmentalize, and we have a selective morality based on the situation we’re in.
I’m rarely in a situation where, if you have a good idea, it’s not embraced. That’s stupid. And I don’t work with stupid people.
A lot of making a movie is the comfort level of the people. It’s just feeling open. We need to get along. We have to know something about each other.
Shooting in New York can be a problem. I had to walk through a crowd, come in the front door, and play the scene.
Things come out of nowhere, and you start evaluating the director, the cast, and all those other things going into it.
Everyone seems to think they know what acting techniques are. Techniques just help you get to a certain place, but if the thing is happening just by itself you don’t need those techniques.
The Dalai Lama said that he thinks mother’s love is the best symbol for love and compassion, because it is totally disinterested.
If people lose their land, they have nothing. You lose your land – you lose your culture, you lose self.
I’m not that tough; I’m not that smart. I need life telling me who I am, showing me my mind constantly. I wouldn’t see it in a cave.
I think people do want to relate their entertainment to what’s going on in their lives. Not everything.
I have a lot of beautiful friends.
What we all have in common is an appreciation of kindness and compassion; all the religions have this. We all lean towards love.
My life is pretty simple and normal.
People have a different idea of how movies are made than they really are.