I think creativity is spiritual. I absolutely believe that.
I'm passionate about politics, but when it comes to political parties, I'm despondent. I'm disappointed at the absence of a sense of humanity and struggle to not become a cynic.
I like to teach. And when I spot talent without ambition, it makes me angry. I give students short shrift if they're not willing to do the work. Relying on talent is not enough.
My family is blue-collar - coal miners and steelworkers. My father was an automobile mechanic, and us boys were brought up to work. I used to pump gasoline at 11 cents a gallon. I thought I would like to be a first-rate mechanic; a respected, hard-working man.
I really like to experiment. That's the only way I can work. It's instinctive.
There is one confrontation scene toward the end of the picture. In the middle of the scene, I thought, That's Sean Connery! I don't know how else to describe Sean Connery. I still feel that way.
All the stuff that you visualized that was going to work so beautifully, you discover is trashed, so you jump to something else.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, I don't know if you'd call him a great actor, but he's amazing in terms of his presence, and he is interesting enough that you want to watch him.
I trust that the president will try, just give it one more shot, some revolutionary way of not doing this, of bringing all those kids back home safely.
I always play these bad guys, and I'm really a nice guy.
I'm not going to just say nice things about everybody unless I mean it.
Whenever there were parties, I wasn't invited because I began to be like that character. In a way, that contributed to the success of the performance.
Marlon Brando was the major influence in my life, though I never met him. And my father - we didn't get along, but he was an influence in terms of honesty and work ethic. That's the greatest compliment I could pay him.
I'm just having a wonderful time. It's an interesting thing that I'm very comfortable with this material and I don't know why. Maybe it's because I did MacBeth.
The difficulty is capturing surprise on film.
People desire power. I don't know why they want it so. It seems to me it implies a hugely superior intellect which separates them from most of the populace.
Woody Allen sets are very quiet. Extraordinary sense of power from a man who doesn't do anything except just stand there.
I just throw it out and see what happens. If it sounds and feels right, then I continue.
There are certain men and women who, from the minute they step in front of a camera, that's exactly where they belong. Connery's one.
With Connery, he does act. He is in complete command. He completely trusts the person first, then the instrument. I've worked with his son also, on a picture in Russia.
