I learned, especially from my mother, to respect the profession and take it seriously, but not take yourself too seriously.

I'm 47, I have gray hair, and yet people still come up to me on the street who are in their twenties, who weren't even born when 'Singles' was made... well, they were pretty tiny, anyway... and they say, 'Oh, I love that movie.' And I always say, 'How OLD are you?'

Most of us... are simply just trying to get through the day. And wait for those times in their life that are markers, that put things into relief. That's why we like movies and books so much.

I tend to turn down roles that are too much like me, what I think is most like me anyhow, because I'm me all the time and I'm sick of it.

In the editing room, 20 percent of the time you're using stuff from before the actor knew the camera was rolling or you're taking a line from somewhere else and putting it in his mouth.

In one way they make the movie something you can handle because it's character driven and it's slightly off center. That's what's attractive, but it also has the potential of being cutesy and sappy. I am so uninterested in that.

As you get older, I think everyone feels that, no matter what the job: to try a hand at running the business as opposed to simply being an employee.