The way an actor is trained doesn't ultimately have much bearing on my work. I'm interested in the actor as artist.

I can't negotiate and collaborate with a character to create a distilled dramatic investigation of the raw material. I need to work with an actor. That stuff about actors who stay in character all the time is nonsense.

The problem with the British film industry is the nervousness and insecurity about - and genuflection toward - Los Angeles.

I think Michael Caine is a perfectly good actor but it's obvious he's not going to be in one of my films.

I've walked out of films. But for every film I've ever walked out of, I've probably walked out of 500 plays.

The way an actor is trained doesn't ultimately have much bearing on my work. I'm interested in the actor as artist.

It's an unhealthy habit to say that life is what you make of it, and if you want to be happy, then you can be happy. That's just rubbish, basically. Life is about luck and it's about circumstances and socioeconomic conditions and all the rest of it, but you know, you can also make choices. It's about spirit and generosity and all the other things, too.