I dont think Paul Thomas Anderson has a standard approach to anything.

I look back at my adolescence, and Im shocked at the things I did that were my idea of adult behavior.

I've never had to talk about my work, nobody's given a damn about it - you know, what I thought. I find that I sort of like that, to get to keep it to myself. It's a bit bizarre.

I don't want to be a basket case on set. I try to sort of quiet all of that, all those thoughts, kinda just let yourself be aware of them when you're preparing to do the work but then once you get there you have to feel as free as possible. Anything that I perceived as something that ran the risk of stressing me out, I just left outside the studio doors because I didn't want to undermine myself.

It's weird. I feel like people assume if a character is very different than you, that means it's difficult to get into their head or into their skin.

I didn’t find it difficult to live in the “Inherent Vice” world or play those scenes, because they just seemed so real.

So when things start going badly, you're invested in the characters in a way I think amplifies the horror and the fear because you're invested.