“Acting is an expression of imagination. No firsthand knowledge is necessary.”

“Every time I do a movie, I think it's going to be a huge hit.”

“Everyone covering 'Stage Beauty' asks me: 'What's it like to wear a dress?'”

“I always end up taking people that are morally ambiguous.”

“I do the best I can when I'm accepting the role to say, 'This is about as much as I can do, and if that's not suitable for you, then you should hire somebody else.'”

“I don't think actors should have to do anything but come in and act.”

“I don't want to expose the intricacies of my work so people can understand how I did it.”

“I feel the film companies should pay for proper advertising to see that the movie will sell, instead of putting it on our backs.”

“I have never indulged our society's misguided notion that my personal life is relevant to my work, so any reporting surrounding that is necessarily hearsay, speculation or fantasy.”

“I live in New York City. I'm 5-foot-9 and wear Rockport shoes that make me 5-foot-91/2. They're not lifts - I deny that - but they do set off the airport metal detector. My hair is starting to gray a little. I have a gold tooth in the back.”

“I never felt that I was typecast, but I was concerned about it. I certainly made an effort to take as many parts in theater and film that resisted that. If you only learn how to act a certain kind of role, it is very difficult to grow as an actor.”

“I put a lot of time and energy and thought behind what I do and the characters that I create, and I don't want to do anything peripheral that is going to make an audience see me up there on the screen rather than who I'm playing.”

“I went to acting school, and there were twenty other actors in my class who were exceptional. It's hard for anybody to get work. When I was trying to get jobs, I felt a responsibility to be respectful of the opportunities and take challenging things that could be interesting both for me as an actor and for the audience.”

“I wish I could say that when I didn't agree with a director I defer to him, but I think sometimes I'm a little self-righteous.”

“I wish I had more of the hero gene, but I don't think I'd be very good at playing one.”

“If I had done 'Titanic,' it would have made, probably, USD200,000 - worldwide. So I think my life would have been very, very similar.”

“Interest in certain themes doesn't mandate a personal stake or personal experience of those themes. I've killed people in plays, but no one asks me what it's like to kill people.”

“It's not that I don't want to be famous. It's just that I don't feel like the burden of responsibility on selling a film should be on the actors.”

“I've been really lucky; I've had the opportunity to play so many roles. I can't imagine a more fortunate career for an actor. I feel incredibly lucky.”

“My limits are limitless. I find my limits every time I act.”

“My parents were really encouraging. But I had to teach them the proper way you respond to an actor after seeing a play - regardless of whether you like their performance you tell them how great they are because they have to go on again the next night.”

“One of the difficulties you run into is that acting and celebrity are so closely intertwined. People make careers out of being charismatic personalities. It's one of those things that people have come to expect from actors. Personalities that don't change from role to role. I don't want it that way.”

“That's what I always enjoyed about acting, the real adrenalin rush. My heart - still before I go on stage - crashing out of my chest. That's thrilling to me.”

“The characters that I'm typically drawn to are sensitive men who are experiencing some sense of identity crisis or growth in their life that they don't know how to overcome.”

“The truth is I don't think actors should have to do anything but come in and act. I feel the film companies should pay for proper advertising to see that the movie will sell instead of putting it on our backs.”

“There's exceptional work being done on television. Some of our great writers are writing for television. When you have things to choose from, you typically go after the writing - unless you're going after the money. There are fewer opportunities in film to make money with good writing, unless you're an action hero.”