You say you're going to be the pope, become the pope.

With acting, if a friend asked me to be in a movie or TV show, there's a lot of things on my résumé I did without reading them or knowing what they were. I just said I'd do that because a friend wrote it, directed, produced, acted in it. With directing, I'm sticking to my guns, not that a lot of people are begging me to direct.

I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right, you just, in an organic way, translate your ideas into those templates. That's the way I perceive the process happening.

Not to knock the people who've given me the opportunity; I appreciate all the opportunities I've gotten, but one of the things I think I really learned from the features I got to direct is that your job as a director is everything about the movie. It's to pick a story that's really worth making, and make sure that the basic components are there. You're not just a part of the team. You're really in charge, and the responsibility falls on you if all the components aren't there for a worthwhile film.

Acting in particular is a fun job when you have a good script. I don't know about acting when you don't have a great script. I'm gonna say that's not a great job, it's kind of a dumb job. But when you have a good part in a good script, it's the best job, in a way.

My goal, whenever entering a project, is always to gain 12 pounds.

My daughter got me a 'World's Best Dad' mug. So we know she's sarcastic.