John Turturro

I play chess badly and I've been beaten by my 10-year old son.

It's great to watch someone get the most out of what they can do, whether they're a beautiful performer or just a really gritty performer. It's something to behold.

My interest lies in my self-expression - what's inside of me - not what I'm in.

Levi is one of the best authors I've ever read. It's hard not to have an immediate personal response to his work. He has such a quiet tone.

When the day's work is over, it's over.

If I was a criminal, stationery stores and bakeries would be the two kinds of places I would concentrate on.

I've done nudity. I'm an exhibitionist. It doesn't matter.

I think I've had more of a variety in what I've done than most actors.

When you sit down and watch something alone, you're going to watch it for what it is.

The romance stuff is easy. A sex scene... that's hard, because you don't know what to do. Those scenes are awkward.

In my first film, Five Corners, I played a very scary, violent crazed character, and it exposed me to a lot of directors.

Games sometimes can reveal things. To watch someone in movement, unconscious movement, can be very stimulating and revealing, whether they win or not.

The past has to inform the present.

A lot of films need planning in order to survive at all. It's part of the dog and pony show.

I love to act, and I try to be challenged by what I do.

If a film doesn't play, people aren't going to be that nice.

I make a list of what I have in common, and what I don't have in common, with someone I'm playing.

When I see these guys write all this macho stuff I want to smash their heads.

I think you learn more from looking at how things occurred and what happened afterward, not just at the event.

Al Michaels is a good announcer. I think Keith Jackson is a terrific announcer. I always loved him on Monday Night Football. I never understood why they got rid of him.

You think of stars as ambitious or aggressive or self-oriented.