The unconscious is our best collaborator.

All the theories that acting is reacting to imaginary circumstances as though they are real, and directing is turning psychology into behavior, those are all stabs at something that can't be taught. All the great actors can't talk about what they do, and they don't want to begin to talk about it. They just do it.

I love to take actors to a place where they open a vein. That’s the job. The key is that I make it safe for them to open the vein.

The only safe thing is to take a chance. Play safe and you are dead. Taking risks is the essence of good work, and the difference between safe and bold can only be defined by yourself since no one else knows for what you are hoping when you embark on anything.

It's not a filmmaker's job to explain his technique but to tell his story the best way he can.

The only safe thing in filmmaking is to take a chance.

Nerves provide me with energy... It's when I don't have them, when I feel at ease, that's when I get worried.