Television in the last few years has been where all the great writers are going. TV now is what indie film used to be.

I love living in Michigan, which has been great for my kids and my family.

There is no best anything in art. Phillip [Hoffman] isn't better than Heath [Ledger]; Joaquin [Phoenix] isn't better than David [Strathairn] or Terence [Howard]. They aren't better than me. We all do different things. It's more of a celebration of a lot of great work than to give the gold to somebody. The underappreciated factor certainly has gone away.

I went to Walter Reed hospital a couple of times to visit wounded soldiers, kids with no legs and one arm. You start to question some things.

I was haunted by trainers going "Up, up, up, get up." You find yourself picking your head up and then realizing, They aren't talking to me.

I never said, 'I'm going to be a big star.' I said, 'I'm going to be a good actor.' And that took the pressure off.

The indie world changed when the economy went south. I was frustrated with doing something, then waiting for it to come out, and sometimes it never did, or would just play in New York for 50 people. So I really wanted to try something else.