But when it became an international hoopla where careers lived and died on whether or not you did or didn't get an Oscar, then it got out of hand.

There were times when I got frightened. Things weren't going right, so I just went out and got smashed. That's me. Something goes wrong, I find a bottle. I don't like it about myself but I've done it before and I'll do it again. But I never vanished for days or held up shooting or quit the picture.

I think of myself as a fairly decent human being and it gives me great pain to be considered for all the mean S.O.B.s that come along. I've played bird decapitators, puppy stranglers, woman beaters, wife poisoners, child molesters - every goddamn thing you can think of. It was quite scene there for a while. But I think the image is changing...I hope to God the old image is fading from people's minds.

We [he and his wife Trish Van Devere] don't talk politics. I'm an independent conservative; she's a radical Democrat. We never vote together.

But when it became an international hoopla where careers lived and died on whether or not you did or didn't get an Oscar, then it got out of hand.

I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. You see, through acting you come full circle in your personality and, oh, what a grand time you can have along the way being wonderful people through your characters...I think all the courage that I may lack personally I have as an actor.

If I were ever stranded on a desert island, there would be 3 things I’d need: food, shelter, and a grip.