I certainly was an actor and then I drifted more towards writing and directing.

As an actor I kind of do. I started out doing voice overs in the mid 80s when I was in grad school.

I'm not so proud to think that anything is unworthy, and I don't think I was that way 10 years ago.

Children from like 8 and even up to the college age - Spider-Man appeals to a fairly broad demographic but, like I said, a mean age probably of 12 is a good mark - they process information so quickly and it's not because of attention deficit or short attention span.

But at the same time, if the right thing came along, I would do it in a second.

But I think once the word gets out that the movie is funny - funny is transcendent - it will traverse all demographic barriers if people embrace it as a funny movie.

When I moved to L.A. in 1989, the very first thing I did was this horrific pilot called To Protect And Surf.

But I'm a citizen of Texas and try to spend most of my time there.

I enjoy doing press for something that I like, and I think the movie is very fun and charming and clever.

Cary and I are working together on another movie, Charlotte's Web.

Last summer when we were preparing for the movie, I actually kind of wanted to stay fairly uninformed about it. As we went through the process that we do in the movie, I wanted to be a little wide-eyed.

I invested, and I protected myself, so I enjoy that freedom.

I believe in singularity in relationships because you've got to have trust on both sides.

Their lives have been largely defined by failure and you would think the prospect of marriage, which is supposed to be bountiful and hopeful, it's just really another kind of tangential thing in his life.

And there have certainly been movies I wanted to be in and milestones I wanted to surpass that did not happen.

I would say 95% of the time, because you just can't remember your lines if you're drinking alcohol. I would say about 95% of the time it was grape juice or this fake wine, which was horrible.

I made a comfortable living for several years. I invested, and I protected myself, so I enjoy that freedom.

But all actors go through the process, it's hit and miss, you have achievement and failure.

He was using me. When he cast me in Sideways I was nothing but a vessel.

But to this day I am convinced that the real reason we met was because Alexander is from Nebraska, and he was completely fascinated that I was about to go off and make a movie with Brando - perhaps the most famous Nebraskan of all.

I kind of have a rededication in my life now to acting because I'm very fond of being in this movie.

But I certainly know a lot of people that existed at that level and are always kind of pining for more, always thinking that the next big break, the next opportunity, the big role are just around the corner of the next audition.

I love knowing that I'm not better than any other person on the planet.

I certainly was an actor and then I drifted more towards writing and directing.

Between Clive Owen winning at the Golden Globes and the British Academy announcing its nominations, of which Sideways received only one, I'm feeling pretty humbled these days.

To some extent I could identify with that because I kind of just made my money and got out.

I love going to the feed store and drinking coffee and talking about how much rain we need.

It's one of those scenarios where no, I never imagined that I'd be directed in a love scene - not even a love scene because it's kind of a hard-core sex scene because it's kind of just purely played for this carnal venting.

I like to keep my private stuff pretty vague.

I did a series called Ned and Stacey for two years for Fox back in the 90s. I was writer on it as well as a producer, and it was very important to me that there were no contemporary references.

The title of the movie is open to interpretation.

But all actors go through the process, it's hit and miss, you have achievement and failure.

Sight is about what lies right in front of us. Vision is what lies ahead.

My favorite actor is Wallace Beery.

I've been a very lucky actor.

I don't think I could be happy as an actor if there was a tyrant on the set.

When I was starting to get noticed as an actor in the 1970s for something other than the third cowboy on the right who ended up dying in every movie or episode, Burt Reynolds was the biggest star in the world.

Most parts that can be played by one actor can equally well be played by another, but not this.

I think, frankly, that I'm a better director than I was an actor.

I knew an actor's career goes up and down and back up again. Your standing in this business can't be your whole identity; otherwise, you're doomed.

I don't think any actor feels comfortable watching themselves in movies. You must be very narcissistic. The problem with your own opinion of yourself is that contrary to the normal spectators, when you watch a film you are in, you only watch yourself.

I don't think there has been any increase in sophistication in the audience. When people are aware of a concept that's easy to understand, and there's an actor who will attract them to the theater and it's a movie that's funny three-quarters of the time, it will be successful.

I never dreamed about being an actor, because that was out of reach. Coming from a small town that was big in farming, and also big in clothing factories, you don't dream about being a professional football player or an actor.

My goal was always to be recognized as a good actor but no one was interested in that, simply because society just wants to warm towards your appearance. This is the great blemish of society.

If you really do want to be an actor who can satisfy himself and his audience, you need to be vulnerable.

To be honest with you, when I got into this I never thought about reviews. I never thought about what people would say about me. I was just a young guy who was excited to become a comedian and an actor and I just wanted to get to do what I got to do.

It was very natural for me to want to disappear into dark theater, I am really very shy. That is something that people never seem to fully grasp because, when you are an actor, you are meant to be an exhibitionist.

I think that I've still not been successful at playing the role of the retired actor, and I'd like to work on that.

And once you cease to be a real person, you stop being a good actor.