Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of the greatest films of all time.

I'm interested in human nature. That's why I chose to become an actor. Whatever people are struggling with, the struggle is often where the drama is.

What do you say when someone has truly inspired you? How do you express to an artist how deeply their work has affected you?

You don't have to run away from life your whole life. You can really live. You can change. And you can be an agent of change.

There is so much in the world to care about.

I'd never done nudity in a movie; I've never sort of condoned it for myself, but David Lynch wanted it, and I was completely comfortable with it because that love story was so protected. There's never a moment where you feel anything is exploited.

I'm friends with Renny Harlan, who directed Die Hard 2, and I will say, I thought it was beautifully done. What I loved about it was that the bad guys are basically American political figures. They don't have East German accents or whatever.