To be really obvious about something, if somebody straps an M1 on your shoulder and throws you in Iraq, you're going to get a sense of what the hell's going on there. Boy, you'll wake up fast when bullets are flying over your head.

It surprised me, the feeling I got when I won the Oscar for 'Scent of a Woman.' It was a new feeling. I'd never felt it. I don't see my Oscar much now. But when I first got it, there was a feeling for weeks afterward that I guess is akin to winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

If you get all tangled up, just tango on.

On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is -- can you win or lose like a man?

My first language was shy. It's only by having been thrust into the limelight that I have learned to cope with my shyness.

If you have the opportunity to meet someone as an actor, it's just great fodder for you. It's wonderful source stuff that we die for.

If you can identify with people, you can empathize with people and therefore you understand things.