I like that when you create you really do create with a very small group of people, and in that space, before it goes out to all these people, that's what I love.

I was working with Michael Shannon and I was like, "Oh man I'm having trouble with this scene." And he's like, "Well, then just open it up." I was like, "But, the mark?" And I was like, what's wrong with me? And he was like, "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

I think that we all have within us the potential for almost anything. If we play close attention to our lives, then we can get at it somehow.

I think you hear a lot of people say 'I support the troops' and all of that, but I really feel deeply that I do.

It's amazing how the world has changed because, at that time [2005], a lot of actors didn't want to play a gay role.

I'm a very political person, and I make political choices in my movies.

We are all from different cultures. Heath's [Ledger] Australian, really. I'm from here. Ang's [Lee] from China. But I think Ang gets very close in preproduction and rehearsals. And then he allows his actors - I don't think scared of actors, but I think he's scared of getting in on the scenes he's watching. The space he's watching. So he just totally disconnects from you while you're shooting.