I'm much softer than people think. I don't present to the world an emotional face. I'm pretty good at self-control, but I am easily moved.

Making films has never just been a job to me, it is my life. I have some interests outside of acting - I sing and I've written books, for instance - but acting is what keeps me going, it's what I do, it gives life purpose.

What's really important for me is, as an old man, I'm known by my own generation and the next generation know me, too.

I love Chicago. It is my new favorite city. It is the perfect place to do any kind of theater.

You can learn Elvish, if you want. It's a language like Italian and English. You can learn to read it, you can learn to write it, and you can learn to speak it.

When the Second World War finished, I was 23 and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime. I'd seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. Seeing horror depicted on film doesn't affect me much.

I didn't want to be known as a man who only made horror films. I made some - very few.