When you look at some of the most respected actors there are and the crap that they're in... it didn't used to be that way.

I made three movies in 1995 and I was unhappy with all of them: Sleepers, Incognito, and Speed 2.

Training Day was such a Hollywood movie; I didn't like it.

Now, being on the cover of Vanity Fair is as important as being in great movies. The lines are very, very blurred.

I don't find movies interesting. I just want to do the movies that made me interested in getting into movies, and they're few and far between.

I never turned down a movie because they wouldn't give me enough money.

I think The Exorcist is the best American horror movie ever made. Friedkin was at the top of his game.

I don't like people who use the press to advance themselves in a way that they haven't earned as an actor, performer or director.

When you look at some of the most respected actors there are and the crap that they're in... it didn't used to be that way.

It's interesting to help someone find their vocabulary. There would not have been a De Niro without a Scorsese.

Pacino's always played the suffering prince. I just find that interesting.

You can take a handful of dollars, a good story, and people with passion and make a movie that will stand up against any $70 million movie.

I was making a lot of independent movies before the independent movement.

I think that's what I really liked about Narc: My character has a real operatic range in a way that older movies used to have.

I would never do something like Speed 2 again. If I'd wanted to make those kind of movies I could have signed up for five of them while it was in the can. It wasn't worth it to me. That was just an innocuous, boring movie.

I try to stay under the radar.

I have a problem with the blatant celebrity exhibitionism that happens in this business and being sold purely as a brand.

I really tried to make movies I wanted to see. I thought that if I was good enough, somebody would always need me.

Mostly I do films that mainstream Hollywood wouldn't touch.

You know how many movies it took Tom Cruise before he was making 5, 6 million dollars? It probably took a billion dollars in box office.

Everybody acts like they're in a movie in most movies. That's why they stink.

It's easy to be a movie star. The shoes are already there. They just put you in the shoes.

When actors talk about research, they're just patting themselves on the back.

I don't have a problem with fame. I got into this business intending to be very successful, but I wanted it to be at my price.

I have all this time between projects, and I'm not so sure that's a healthy thing. It's scary, because at 36 I'm woefully unqualified for anything else.

If I was coming into the business today, I wouldn't be in it. Knowing what I know, absolutely not.

Actors love mental disorders, dialects, and corsets. Give them one of the three and they're happy.

What's fascinating is that when you write a script, it's almost a stream of consciousness. You have an idea that it means something, but you're not always sure what. Then when you get on the set, the actors teach you.

Young actors often don't think of the consequences of doing nudity or sex scenes. They want the role so badly that they agree to be exploited, and then end up embarrassing family, friends, and even strangers.

I've seen many actors go awry by making the wrong choices early on.

Actors are able to trick themselves into treating anything as if it's fantastic. It's a kind of madness really.

David Cronenberg knows what we actors do as artists.

I like doing them and they're ridiculous and the actors can improvise a lot, and they don't have to be really realistic characters that hit a very specific tone as in a feature film. They're really fun, I want to make more of them definitely.

I'm not in the business of becoming famous. And that's the advice I give to younger aspiring actors. Work onstage and do the little roles. In the end it's not important to be seen. It's important to do. There's a lot of disappointment in this business, but my family keeps me grounded.

Actors get pigeonholed very quickly, particularly movie actors. In the theater, one is more used to casting people against type and trusting that their talent and skill will get them through.

Comedians are not usually actors, but imitations of actors.

I was very pleased you know, and I was afraid that I might stick out, but I didn't. My happiest thing about that picture is that I proved that American actors can speak as well and also fit in with an ensemble like that.

I've worked with a lot of really fine actors, both on stage and on screen. The level of their game lifts me up and brings the level of my game up to theirs. Always. It's like a constant upgrade.

I feel like I'm the most well-adjusted character on the show, even though I'm sure the other actors would tell you the same thing about their characters.

There's a constant flow of child actors. It's kind of funny to watch the new crew come through. I think, You poor little things. You're going to have to struggle for a long time.

I'll miss the relationships I have built with these actors. I'll miss the devotion we have to this work. Over this length of time, the tendency is to think it will never end.

After the war, there was no industry. We lost the war. We had our whole city destroyed. No money. No studio. No film. No camera. No equipment. We would shoot in the street. We had no actors. Nothing. But we wanted to do movies. And we did the best movies in the world.

An actors' tribute to me is in his work.

A few nights ago I went to a Hollywood screening of a small independent film made by Sally Kirkland, an old friend of mine who also did terrific job acting in it. There were other actors in it and they were all terrific.

This friend of mine said he was surprised to find that - I don't think it's quite a majority - a bigger percentage of actors are introverts than extroverts. It was a big surprise to him. Now, I know me, and I'll do anything if I'm playing a character. Or anything that's true to the character, anyway. But in real life I'm a little more withdrawn.

Plastic surgery and breast implants are fine for people who want that, if it makes them feel better about who they are. But, it makes these people, actors especially, fantasy figures for a fantasy world. Acting is about being real being honest.

When on the set of a film, you have to play natural for entire scenes in a very unnatural environment. You have to express emotions and interact with other actors and also use your voice.

If you watch the show and the characters don't look at each other while they're talking, the actors probably aren't getting along.

When I decided I wanted to be an actor, I said I wanted to work with quality actors and directors.