What I do is whatever it takes, it takes. Sometimes you see a scene right away and a take looks great so you might print that and you might print a couple more and take elements of all three. It just depends. You're looking for the highlights. You're looking for the best elements of the scene, but preferably you'd like to have one good take that would go all the way through.

Sam [Mendes] said he took advantage of the fact that Kate and I were so close for many years. He knew it was something he could harness in our performances, and we knew that too.

There is no element of genius without some form of madness.

We actually did a lot of takes on this movie [J. Edgar Hoover]. I never left the set wanting more. That's for sure. I don't know. This was a very difficult character for me and a lot of the other actors here, and at times we went and did 8 or 9 or 10 takes on a single day.

When I can't immediately define the character, and there's an element of mystery to it and still a lot to be explored, that's when I say yes.

Some people don't get it when I'm being sarcastic.

It's amazing to completely focus on something for four, five or six months, have it completely consume your life and be constantly thinking about somebody else's set of circumstances and how they would react to something. I find it fascinating. It's rewarding and on a professional and personal level.