Without pain and suffering, we would be nothing.

Depression is not interesting to watch.

Acting is about being in the moment.

By the time this concert ends this evening, 30,000 Africans will have died because of extreme poverty. By this time tomorrow evening, another 30,000. This does not make sense.

Heartthrobs are a dime a dozen.

By nature, I keep moving, man. My theory is, be the shark. You’ve just got to keep moving. You can’t stop.

When I was a boy, I would ask about my family history, about my bloodlines. We really didn’t know that much. We had a little Indian in us from the Oklahoma Trail of Tears.

The best gift is the gift of your time.

I spent the ’90s trying to hide out, trying to duck the full celebrity cacophony.

I don’t think I was all that late in becoming a father.

Democracy doesn’t work unless the public is informed.

I’m drawn to furniture design as complete architecture on a minor scale.

Life is a series of choices.

I’m much more experienced now, so I can find films that are interesting quicker and cut out the films that don’t really matter. It means more to me now because my kids are going to see them, and I want them to be proud.

When I received my first paycheck from my now known day job, I spent it on a period Craftsman chair and a Frank Lloyd Wright-wannabe lamp. With my second paycheck, I bought a stereo.

Personally I like ageing. With age comes wisdom and I have said it before and I say it again, I will take wisdom over youth any day.

I think someone’s conversation, whether in e-mail or in person, should be private.

Success is about how much you can enjoy what you do.

I was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

I’m 48 now and whatever I get music-wise, I get from my kids and that’s it. I don’t think I’ll ever be hip again!

America is not a country, it’s a business.

I guess I just don’t see America as separate from Vietnam or Ethiopia. This mentality of ‘our team’s better than yours’ – it’s a high school idea. My kids don’t see those dividing lines, and I don’t want to either.

You have to create your own happiness.

Indian cinema seems to be growing very well at its own pace.

I would love to work in a Bollywood film as there is so much drama and colour in the films there.

Hitting bottom isn’t a weekend retreat, it’s not a goddamn seminar. Stop trying to control everything and just let go!

I have a hard time with morals. All I know is what feels right, what’s more important to me is being honest about who you are. Morals I get a little hung up on.

Love is about finding common ground.

I’ve learned that being vulnerable is a strength.

I always liked film as a teaching tool – a way of getting exposed to ideas that had never been presented to me. It just wasn’t on the list of career options where I grew up.

If I’m going to work, I want to work with my wife.

There’s no right. There’s no wrong. There’s only popular opinion.

I want to do work that matters.

I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me.

You want to stake your own claim. You don’t want to be called a copycat.

We’re all on this journey together.

I think L.A. is impossible. There’s just too much media focus. You can’t live a normal life.

The Assassination of Jesse James’ remains one of my favorite films that I’ve done. You know, it’s still labeled a loser.

You don’t really get to choose who you fall in love with. Love chooses you.

Deregulation created this epidemic of greed which according to the rules of capitalism was OK. Beyond that there was criminal behaviour. There have been no repercussions and it’s hard to make your peace with.

Love is about balance.

It’s a violent world we live in. I don’t agree with trying to hide that or cover it up.

I’m not a big believer in fate.

You have to be a little crazy to be an artist.

I think you can learn from your mistakes.

I’m a father now, and that changes everything.

Life is about how you handle Plan B.

I don’t believe in perfection.

I’m satisfied with making true choices and finding the woman I love, Angie, and building a family that I love so much.

We’re all on our own journey.

Actions speak louder than words, and it’s no more true than with your kids.

The Internet has done a wonderful thing for us. But democracy doesn’t work unless people are well informed, and I don’t know that we are. People just don’t have the time.

It’s all about the work. It’s all about the craft.

With sons and fathers, there’s an inexplicable connection and imprint that your father leaves on you.

Stop being perfect, because obsessing over being perfect stops you from growing.

When I was a little kid we moved to Tulsa, then to St. Louis and, by the time I was in kindergarten, we lived in Springfield, Missouri. There I basically grew up.

I am obsessively bent on quality – to an unhealthy degree.

I don’t think you can do anything unless you’re passionate.

Success is a beast. And it actually puts the emphasis on the wrong thing. You get away with more instead of looking within.

The woman is the reflection of her man. If you love her to the point of madness, she will become it.

We sometimes let ourselves be rated too much by others – we put so much emphasis on a paycheck or what a magazine says.

A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss… That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all.

The only way to live is to live.

My kids are just waiting for me at home. I’m their father. They’re wondering, ‘When’s Daddy coming home?’

Seeing the world is the best education you can get. You see sorrow, and you also see great spirit and will to survive.

Ideals are peaceful. History is violent.

You must lose everything in order to gain anything.

You know, you just have to be honest with yourself.

My father came from a very poor background, but I was very fortunate in the sense that we were never in need. My dad was determined to make sure that we didn’t want for things. He wanted to give us more opportunity than he had, a better shot at a better life.

The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.

When you see a person, do you just concentrate on their looks? It’s just a first impression. Then there’s someone who doesn’t catch your eye immediately, but you talk to them and they become the most beautiful thing in the world. The greatest actors aren’t what you would call beautiful sex symbols.

What we’re seeing now is that greed is still alive and kicking, and banks are bigger than ever.

I think the greatest gift you can give your children is your time.

In Missouri, where I come from, we don’t talk about what we do – we just do it. If we talk about it, it’s seen as bragging.

The things you own end up owning you.

I see religion more as a truck stop on your way to figuring out who you are.

It’s a lovely experience walking around a museum by yourself.