The films that I really enjoy now are films that are made by, for wont of a better word, mavericks..

There's no such thing as an actor giving positive criticism to a director. The minute you say 'Don't you think it would look nicer', that director's ….

It takes a very strong brain to resist the absolutes, the myths that the media and the politicians peddle - the idea that if you are too kind, where ….

What point is there to all the wealth and power that America may have if they can't look after its own?.

The fact in acting, you can tap into your darkest moments in life to your lightest moments. And people will watch it, and appreciate it, and even eng….

There's a part of bohemia I love. The lack of prejudice, the lack of aggression, I love the lack, for the most part, of competitiveness. It's more pe….

Sometimes you have to confront your demons and sometimes even let them loose to genuinely find a place where you can gain some understanding..

I did 'Deathly Hallows' so my kids could get on the 'Harry Potter' set. They met Daniel Radcliffe, who was a darling and couldn't have been nicer to ….

In terms of popular cinema, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is as near perfection as I can think of..

I wanted to dismantle the bollocks that there's a military structure to a gang, with a leader, second leader, the good looking one, first babe, secon….

A lot of actors aren't particularly good directors. And they're not particularly good with other actors. That's kind of a fallacy..

I don't like the way some actors, when playing a nasty character, will try to grab hold of something good about them..

In the acting game, you spend a long time fighting against what the director perceives you to be. And half the time the directors don't know..

I love acting. It's the one job I know of where you can go in, go through complete catharsis - emotionally, physically sometimes and mentally - and a….

In bringing the subject of religious oppression to a wider audience, I didn't just want to kick the Catholic Church but to poke a finger in the throa….

Watching people just look out for themselves, I think, is extremely interesting. It goes right back to something like 'The Beggar's Opera' - the unde….

There are some people who walk into a room and they oxygenate it, by their very being there's fresh air. Then there are those who come in with the sm….

It's not so much that I want to direct but that I have to. When I write something it terrifies me that if I give it to someone else and it doesn't tu….

Every film I've ever worked on, and that includes 'Braveheart' and 'Trainspotting,' I've always witnessed a director having a breakdown. Every direct….

A script is utterly useless in and of itself; it's only of any worth the minute your actors, your designers, your directors come into being..

Nine out of ten delinquents are frustrated actors..