I don't want to infantilize the actor; I want to empower the actor. Actors can be many things, but all of the really good ones are really great storytellers, and I'm interested in that. If you're not interested in that as a director then you better be Stanley Kurbrick.
'Crazy-busy' is a great armor, it's a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how we're feeling and what we really need can't catch up with us.
There's that Bob Dylan quote: 'He who's not busy being born is busy dying.' That's a great line. And I really believe that.
I don't just act, and that's really important to me. I don't want to just be an actor forever. I want to score movies. I could be an actor first, but I don't only want to be an actor.
Josh Brolin is an actor that I really, really like; he's fantastic. I worked with him once; he's a really great actor.
I didn't come to Hollywood to drink or get high, and I don't want to be considered a cool actor - I want to be a great actor.
I don't like the idea of having to reproduce a recorded song live that I sing. I have enough to do on stage. I'm really busy up there, and I'm really busy with everything I have to do for every show. Add having to worry about my voice and singing lead on a song or two, that's not something I necessarily want to do.
All you ever really want is a great character and great writing. As an actor, that's the juiciest sandwich you could ever ask for.
Every actor has periods of their life that are a little less busy than others, and that was just a time when I needed that. And to be back on a sitcom stage, with Julia [ Louis-Dreyfus], was really, really fun.
You want the actor to be happy with the movie. You really want the actor to think they did a good job and all that.
When I had a full-time job, I really wasn't that busy, but now I'm really busy. I guess that's a good thing.
As an actor, rejection is a big part of it, and I've had a lot of it. So when there's something that you really want to do, it's so great to have someone to be a part of a team as great as this team is.
I couldn't be happier with where my life's at right now. I have great partners, I have great stimulating relationships on the business side of things, I've been really busy and productive.
We want the best actor, and that's why Matt Damon worked so well in this role, because he's a great actor.
It's crazy, it's different. It's what I wanted, but it's different. It's not exactly what I wanted, you know what I mean? If you become an actor you want to be a successful actor; but with success comes a lot of things. Some of it's great! It's great to be able to pay your rent from the work that you do.
There's one thing better than having a great actor, and that's having a great actor who's never done this kind of role before and is hungry to do it. They're testing themselves every day. They want to get out of their trailer and get to work.