Quotes

I'm always looking around for another play, but only for a short run. I did "Frankie and Johnnie in the Claire de Lune" onstage with Edie Falco for six months, and it was very hard. Once you get past 14 weeks, I go crazy.

Independents don't exist any more. Let's be clear about that. Having made a lot of independent movies as an actor and director, trying to raise money-you can put Jesus Christ in your movie and it's really hard if it's an adult drama. The industry has changed significantly since I entered it. It's cyclical. But I don't think it's as healthy as it used to be.

I was doing a play once with Frances McDormand and I left because I so disagreed with the director's vision. Sometimes being miscast is not just, "Can I play this character?" but can I play it within this aesthetic -- on if he's ever been miscast.

With certain directors you can scream. "Look, forget it, it's not gonna happen. It doesn't behoove the situation, it doesn't behoove your film. I'm not doing it." And other times, it's simply a discussion. "Let's do one this way, let's do one that way."

[on whether acting is an art form] The technique is the craft. You can take a plot and tell it over and over again but to me, there's an individual truth to it. First of all, in order for it to be art it has to be truthful. Secondly, it has to be individually true. It's that true individuality and that real truth that makes it art.

[on why he is an actor] I think it's instinctual. You have a feeling at a certain age. Whether you want to be on stage, whether you want to paint, make music, whatever you want to do. What makes you feel comfortable? Even as a kid, I felt much more comfortable on stage than I did in real life.

[on his role as "George Harvey" in The Lovely Bones (2009)] I never wanted to play a serial killer. I don't like to watch things about serial killers or kids getting hurt. I can't stand that, really. But this was something beyond that. It was an exploration of loss and hope. And I'm glad that I chose to do it.

Since I wrote "Taste", the list of things I can eat has got longer. I think I'm probably at the point where I don't know how much better it's going to get. This is what the doctors have told me, but I'm at a very good place. Can I just tuck into a big piece of steak? No, I still can't. And with a burger, there has to be a high-fat content, which is what I like anyway. So that's fine. I don't believe in lean burgers. What's the point? If the wine's too warm, or has too many tannins, it hurts too much. Because this is all brand new.

People like to cast me in a position of power because I'm incredibly smart and I get frustrated really easily. It's perfect.