I started directing out of necessity, the first play I wrote in college because I didn't know anyone who could direct it.

Im living as an artist, and thats a staggering feeling, its a total luxury. And because you have this amazing chance, with so much freedom, Im determined to make something that is worth that. I feel this responsibility - to create something that makes an audience feel, which takes them somewhere. But thats very hard to achieve.

I think Catholicism took root very quickly in Ireland because it's a very superstitious religion, the holy ghost, the holy spirit, it has a goddess, very visual, the music.

I could not flourish in the Hollywood system because the first thing spoken about is "What genre is it?" and "Who's it for?" It's a very strange question to me; it's for human beings.

It's probably the last thing you think about when you're making a film is other people's problems. You're thinking about your problem, which is making the movie. But you do have a responsibility. You can't mess around with people's emotions.

I love stories that frame that: This is what life is about - you don't have a clue.

When people are out of their comfort zone, it’s more dramatic, more prone to have more entertaining experiences, get into fights. That’s the dramatic instinct, to move people out of what they know and make them deal with it.