I come from a pretty working-class neighborhood in Chicago. Hard work was just expected of you. It wasn't some noble thing you did; it was a prerequisite. It's what a man did. You get up, you put on your boots, and you work hard. We've lost a lot of that, I'm afraid.

I'm a big fan of the 'Harry Potter' movies and 'The Lord of the Rings' films.

Hollywood is an illusion. These intense workplaces, with very close relationships, a few months at a time - and then it ends.

Why people pick me for the roles that they do is a bit of a mystery.

I just like surprising people. I never want to get to a place where people see that I am in a movie and they go see the movie and they expect a certain performance one way or the other. That is just inherently boring to me.

I really enjoy my time off. If I'm going to go to work, it has to be something I really believe in, or else it's totally tedious.

From the first time I did a movie, people have said, 'Oh, it's all going to change now.' And it would change, but very incrementally. I think I prefer that to some big explosion of fame all of the sudden.