I believe that we were very, very lucky that it went that way.

Well, in 1947... in Europe and in Italy especially, we thought of America as all-powerful.

In the immediate postwar years, the whole of Europe was in a recession. So first of all, it helped us step out of a recession; it gave a certain amount of speed to the economy. But that was the first step.

I believe that we were very, very lucky that it went that way.

The Communists at that moment were very strong in Italy, and the Italian Communist Party was the biggest Communist Party outside the Soviet Union.

And the Marshall Plan, to us, meant a general who had turned into a secretary of state, and that the secretary of state saw the necessity of the reconstruction of these European countries that had suffered so heavily.

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

My work is mostly about longing, human relationships, science and children - and a little bit about ghosts and reincarnation.

The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes of our hearts.

I want to prove a point. That point is, actors are artists, not narcissists necessarily.

My daughter is the biggest gift; I've said it so many times and it sounds like a cliche, but the thing about being a parent is when you think you've cracked it, and you're on top of your game, they change again and you have to catch up and adjust. I feel such a responsibility to instill good values in her, to be polite, to have discipline.

If you drop a line in the theatre, you can usually find a way round it. But you can't do that as easily on television - you're in the hands of too many people.

I like films that have a kind of vivacity about them.

A drummer is never late nor is he early he hits his count precisely when he means to.

When I was a boy, my own dad told me in a smiling and wistful way that it's a wise man that knows his own father.

I quite like dark humor.

Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound up with the central Augustinian claim that we are what we love.

I don't keep a record of the parts I've played, and I don't compare characters, but maybe I should? I could construct a graphic that grades badness and madness levels? Interesting idea.

I did a picture for the First Barbie doll box.

Our Generation has had no Great war no Great Depression. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives.

Airports in major cities, like LAX, are trippy environments. It is at once a national and international gathering of those in transition: The euphoric, emerging from planes, their journey at an end, and the determined, about to depart.

Spend time reflecting on your emotional and physical existence and how that applies to the voice. You have to apply that wisdom and experience when you sing - it's what comes through.

I like to go dancing, have a few beers. I like being alone, too. I have days where it's 'God, get me a shot of tequila.'

Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.

Is fair and wise and good and gay.

It seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all.

There's plenty for me to do. There are more albums. I'll record as long as I can and as long as my voice works as well as it does now and for as long as people want to hear me.

The world is a dysfunctional place in so many ways. It is unstable. So even though that chaos can be reflected in our own homes, I suppose we have to fight that by creating our own versions of safety, which can also turn into ignoring the state of the world.

Being packed all the time, even when not in use, must feel something like going to bed on an empty stomach.

As for the Pope, I am too old to be frightened by his shadow, and am quite sure his shadow or Substance will do less harm to the liberties of my country than will a party, who seek to acquire political power by exciting religious bigotry in the minds of their duped followers.