- It doesn't matter what other people think, unless you believe them.
- If you don't bleed, sweat or cry then you are not doing your job. - on stage acting
- What other people think of me, is none of my business.
- I have a responsibility to the character's truth, more than I have a responsibility to the people who come to judge it, I do my job, the rest is out of my hands.
- Dealing with the motion picture industry, I wanted to create a piece that asks questions about celebrity - what celebrity is and who are these people that we worship? And who are the people who tell us to worship these people? I don't want to offend anybody on their political beliefs but I think it's fascinating that a candidate for the head office of the country is really in the candidacy because he's a celebrity.
- Realism - It can become very stagnant and boring. I wanted to try something different - something that is so overtly emotional and passionate and expressionistic that it's a challenge. It's a challenge to convey characters that their internal lives bleed out onto the stage.
- I have a passion for what I do. I want to do things that are different. I'm more often associated with independent art and independent film than commercial things. I want the challenge, collaboration and the risk.
- I look for challenging roles. I love villains. Leads tend to be boring, it's the bad guys who really have a complex story to tell.
- In my opinion Art should ask questions, and not give answers, that's the audience's contribution.
- The actor's job is the same, whether it be Hollywood or Indie, Broadway or regional, union or local. The accountability is to the character's truth, and the truth of the narrative...all the rest is razzle dazzle.
- It's OK to be exceptional, especially when we live in such mediocre times where the ordinary is the expected.
- I've never considered myself an actor; I'm an artist. Tell you one thing, if acting was hard, nobody would do it. We're all, in a way, actors, aren't we?
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Boot camp for actors, brutal, the teaching methods. But I wanted to be challenged; I wanted my teachers to be stern, tough, not masquerading as friends.
- Hollywood is a very dark business, and it's fascinating how people make it their business to defend it. As if it were their friend. These new sex scandals don't mystify me, it's the way Hollywood has always been, business as usual.
- Movies of the 1970's were dangerous, unconventional, and anti-Hollywood, with characters that weren't so pretty, with endings that made you think. I'm all about unique, provocative movies, movies that have something to say.
- Contemporary Hollywood has successfully infected the mediocre majority into believing conventional, predictable, insipid, vacuous movies and television shows are the only available option. The conditioning has been so successful that if you present them with an original idea, they balk at the occasion; retreat into remakes, prequels, sequels and pellucid spoon-fed entertainment. On the other hand, Hollywood's only true intention is to make money, so they give the mass what they covet. The cinema of the 70's had it right. Every Friday night, a new original masterpiece. I mean, do you really want to see "Batman 500" one day? I know I don't.
- [on Los Angeles] There are two kinds of people: those who hate L.A., and those who will.
- [on Broadway Musicals and Hollywood Summer franchises] I avoid them. Good taste has deprived me of a bad many things. Broadway is marketed to rich white tourists who can spend $350 a ticket on the latest hoodwink set to Rap music. Hollywood Summer films exploit your finances in a different way with the Madison Avenue tie-ins including: the fast food burger, collector cup, pillowcase, breakfast cereal and limited edition ankle tattoo. Both require contrived spectacle to distract the audience from the realization - there's really nothing there.
- Making movies is the best job in the world, but I crave the Theatre.
- [on Miami Vice Seasons 1-2, 1984-86] Michael Mann taught me how to see. His marriage of mise en scene and music influence me to this day. Whether in my paintings, photography or performing arts - his unapologetic sense of formalism enable my visions into creation.
- As an Actor I'm always looking for the challenges within the text and character. I seek the truth of the moment and try to make interesting choices. Working in film and theatre both have their rewards, but the true mastery of the craft resides on the stage. Films are cut, molded and manipulated...only the theatre removes the barrier between the audience and character.
- To be labeled "pretentious" is a good thing, to actually be pretentious isn't.
- My first films were made on my Uncle's VHS camcorder; would usually consist of me playing Robin Leach in some variation of a parody of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
- The American audience isn't open to change. If you're fed McDonald's every day, for every meal, and then suddenly given lobster bisque - their first inclination is not to say that bisque is the most delicious thing they ever ate, their first inclination is to say, 'That's weird, it scares me, I feel inadequate to digest it; therefore I don't like it'. A strict diet of comic book movies is the McDonald's equivalent.
- [on being a private personality] Skip the social media. I'm social media free...and proud of it.
- [on the digital generation] I have acquisitive dreams for the young filmmakers coming up today. They possess a stalwart understanding they can create without the permission of the Studio; innately harbor comprehensive knowledge of self distribution without compromise.
- As a Filmmaker/Playwright I often deal with the failure of language, and how people suffer needlessly though seas of meaningless speak.
- I'm so grateful for the journey of which I've been privileged; blessed that I can make a living through the arts.
- Simple logic tells you - if the camera doesn't see it, or the microphone doesn't hear it ... then it doesn't exist for the audience.
- You can drive yourself mad with getting it real; conveying a natural presentation of a character ... but it's not enough. Yeah it's real, but it isn't interesting. The ultimate goal is to find the truth and play it in a riveting manner.
- The sound of applause should not be ignored.
- Most actors seek attention and pampering. I've been doing this for over 25 years. I been put up in hotels - for months at a time, I've been flown around the country - in first-class, I've had: Star Waggons, catered meals, transport drivers, and even a generous allowance of Haggen-Dazs coffee ice cream (my vice) delivered to me on set. I can easily attest, I'd rather have a good character, and a great director - than all that razzle-dazzle overindulgence.
- [on acting] If you don't have the lines, then you don't have anything.
- [on film directors] The film belongs to the director, even though it is often credited to the cast - which would be like complimenting a milkshake by only speaking of the cherry on top. The director sheriffs every single creative decision on the show, and the good ones make their cast credible. My top directors: Michael Mann, Terrence Malick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jonathan Glazer, and Stanley Kubrick.
- I know I've done my job, if I exit the stage and experience a sense of amnesia; having no recollection of what just transpired during the scene. This isn't as monumental as it sounds, it's just something that happens when you acquiesce to the character's truth.
- Being an actor isn't about being a good liar, it's about telling the truth. Don't act angry, be angry etc. The truth always separates the character, from the actor playing the character. Who cares about the actor, we, the audience, should love/hate the character. That's my attitude.
- I cannot express enough how important it is to have the director's trust. Without it, you don't feel confident in taking risks or trying something memorable. The best gift you can receive from your director is her/his trust that you will do your job, and find the truth of the character within the truth of the narrative.
- [on personal projects] There's nothing wrong with making something for yourself. That's how ART should be. Once you create something for somebody else, or only to ensnare their wallet, it's no longer art - but rather commerce. Tourist art doesn't inspire me.
- [on avoiding trends in entertainment] That of which is massively popular today, will be regrettably generic tomorrow. Go the other way, and add it to which you know you're right. Box office is an erroneous barometer of quality.
- If they criticize and or complain, you know you're doing something right. The Dunning-Kruger effect explains it all.
- [on Hollywood] Films can be much more than entertainment. The mass homogenized entertainment industry; diffusion of Hollywood products, have fostered a populous of cynical philistines, who all too quickly label anything creatively different as pretentious, just because it fails to conform to impolitic entertainment standards.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content