Careers, like rockets, don't always take off on time. The trick is to always keep the engine running.
I study to learn, to be an educated person.
Wherever I go for the military, they always call me Lt. Dan. They just can't help it.
I played a character in 'Ransom' who was as evil as they come.
I save money when I'm working so that I never have to take a role simply to pay the bills.
But I've got more to learn, too. I don't feel like I'm done or I know it all.
Sometimes you're in great demand. Then suddenly your career hits the breaks.
Well, I've been to Iraq twice now. I was in Baghdad in June and then north of Baghdad in November.
I'm not registered to any party. I don't really play in the political world. I'm really more interested in getting things done.
I've worked with a lot of really fine actors, both on stage and on screen. The level of their game lifts me up and brings the level of my game up to theirs. Always. It's like a constant upgrade.
You've got to keep taking certain risks, because my priority is in acting, it's not in movie stardom.
If you're missing three or four limbs, you have special challenges going forward. And the last thing you want is to not be independent in your home.
I think you're lucky if you discover what you really love at a young age. College wasn't something I was going to do. I wanted to keep acting, and I didn't want to go to New York or California and pound the pavement.
I'm not like one of those actors who's a frustrated director.
I've directed enough in the theatre and a couple of films to know that - to feel fairly secure that if I find a story that I really like I can probably get it done somewhat.
'The Stand' came out in May of '94 and was seen by 60 million people a night for four nights, and then two months later, 'Forrest Gump' opened. So within a very short time, I went from being depressed about not getting any work to being in two of the most popular shows of the year.
I was always fascinated with rock 'n' roll, or girls, or something like that when I was a kid.
I've never had to compromise myself for a job, ever.
It's always been my dream to do a dance scene with Anthony Hopkins.
I can honestly say that I've done everything I've wanted to do, always. Not without difficulty. But every time I wanted to do something, I just did it, from the age of 18 when I started my own theater with my friends. When I decided I wanted to act. I just bit the bullet.
