Life is full of compromises, and whether or not you're willing to negotiate.

I like stories about people. I like things that are human and different. I want to be as engaged in my work as I am in reading a book. I want to be electrified by the films I do.

I like the excitement you get at touching another human being when you're acting with them and then having a little spark and not knowing what is going to happen in between you.

People think that the directors direct actors. No. Really, what the director's doing is directing the audience's eye through the film.

I think the thing about relationships is that you're always thinking "Oh, it's going to go bad." [...] But then, it's the same thing that all the silly magazines say, "Take time for yourselves. Go away."

You're in a movie, so you have to think about how something plays. It's not like you're thinking about how an audience is going to react. You're trying to present the story. You're trying to illuminate the lives of these people in the story. So I'm thinking about how my behavior as this character best illuminates what's going on with them in this moment in time. I always say it's sort of the director's job. People think that the directors direct actors. No. Really, what the director's doing is directing the audience's eye through the film.

I always say about acting: the audience doesn't come to see you, they come to see themselves. So if you're able to give them an experience where they feel, 'Oh, my gosh, that's me, that's my story, they know!' then you've done your job.