I came up around people who took acting seriously, who cared about acting, cared about the theater and, in the '70s, made movies that said something that mattered. I came up with those people, and I was a kid. Their ethos and credo became mine.

It's funny, a lot of people think I take myself seriously because I come off so serious sometimes. But it's not that I take myself seriously, I take what I do seriously.

I think everyone is very surprised at how matrix has become the pop culture phenomenon that it is.

I wouldn't say that going into a weekly television series is actually stepping away from anything. It's another medium in which to work as an actor.

People think that I'm haughty and stuck up, but really I'm just very shy.

You know, whatever happens between the two of us that's created when we come together as actors is not something I think we can explain.

I've been a fan of Mads since the “Casino Royale” movie. I really sat up and paid attention to him. I was like, “Who is this motherf**ker?” Even his work in something as sort of popcorn as “Clash of the Titans,” he brings a kind of danger and reality and he grounds it in such a way that you think, yes, I'm good to work with this guy. I should come back, just stay behind him. (Laughs) Our working relationship has been fantastic.