Well, I certainly did not think that I could do worse.

I am fond of depicting the lives of young folks for one thing, and if you have parts for girls or young men, you must absolutely have young people to fill them - that is generally acknowledged now.

Now supposing I had the part of a young woman to give out, one that wanted some excellent acting. If I were to go to the stage for my actress I would have to take a matured woman, one who would act splendidly, but who would look too old for the requirements.

I pick out young people and teach them in less time than it would take me to alter the methods of people from the boards, and I get actors who look the parts they have to fill.

Well, I certainly did not think that I could do worse.

It takes two years on the stage for an actor or an actress to learn how to speak correctly and to manage his voice properly, and it takes about ten years to master the subtle art of being able to hold one's audience.

Actors should never be important. Only directors should have power and place.

Movies are written in sand: applauded today, forgotten tomorrow.

Remember how small the world was before I came along? I brought it all to life: I moved the whole world onto a 20-foot screen.

There will never be talking pictures.

When I work for someone else, I always make money for them. When I back my own ideas, I am bound to lose.

I would rather five people knew my work and thought it was good work than five million knew me and were indifferent.

When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'

Ideas are cheap. Ideas are easy. Ideas are common. Everybody has ideas. Ideas are highly highly overvalued. Execution is all that matters.

Probably my favorite piece of music, as an album taken as a whole, is Bruce Springsteen's 'Greetings from Asbury Park.' I just think it's incredibly pure. It's a sound that sort of broke new ground, and I think it paved the way for a hundred people that sound very similar.

I curl up inside and freeze when I have to act. I much prefer sitting on the sidelines and trying to get the best out of other people.

I think that when we have a better educated society, when there is less violence in our cities, when people get back into the workforce and have the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families - that for me really is the kind of success and the kind of America that I think most of us still want, we aspire to.

I have friends struggling with autism, juvenile diabetes.

In America, we are demanding everything from our marriage.

It sounds really cliched, but just be true to who you are.

Becoming enlightened is not special, but it's unusual.

You don't just throw the ball - you propel it.

My favorite books, art pieces, films, and music, always have something jarring about them.

Being an actor is often very tedious, which is why it helps hugely if your fellow cast members are also good friends.

My soul is fine, thanks.

TV has been very good to me, and I hope I've been good to it, but I also love film.

I seriously don't take praise to my heart or to my head. I only want to work harder and never get complacent.

Being asked to describe what 'post-racial' means is a bit like being asked to describe a leprechaun, cold fusion or unicorns: we know what is meant, but, if we are willing to be honest, we also know that none of the four describe something real, something tangible, something true.

I was fourteen when Kissinger made his secret trip to China, and then there was subsequently Nixon's trip to China, and I was very much seized with an interest in China.

Wishes are memories coming from our future!

I'm perfectly proud of the work I did, looking back at it. I know I've had a bit of a revision since my 'Big Finish' stories came out.

Oh, I'm nerdy about science fiction and fantasy and graphic novels and reading, and I'm nerdy about board games. My favorite board game is a board game I'm working on right now. It's a game of Napoleonic era naval warfare, and it's going to be fun.

I wake up in the morning and I think about one brand. I don't have enough time to wake up twice and think about two.

The grand thing about the human mind is that it can turn its own tables and see meaninglessness as ultimate meaning.

Popping broad beans out of their skins can be therapeutic, but it isn't everybody's favourite waste of time.