I open myself up every time I walk on screen and give you everything that I am. There are parts of me that are in every movie that I've done. That to me is what my job is.

If you ignore the murdering and the conniving, Francis Underwood is an effective politician.

You've got to trust the ground you're standing on and the work you've done in telling your story. The goal should be to bring those thousands of people - viewers - together and make them one. When you feel that happening, it's usually in silence, not applause or laughter.

When I was young, I learned very early on that I could make my mother laugh. And that was one of the greatest sounds I ever heard.

I don't want to show deleted scenes. I don't like an audience looking at what the movie might have been - if it's in the movie, it's in the movie.

We're all victims of our own hubris at times.

I mean we all played as kids. You play games, you take on different characters, you imitate; the fun and the love of play has never left me.