I always knew that someone was going to come at me with a script to play God. It's just one of those things, the way your career is unfolding and all the talk about gravitas etc etc, so I had a strong feeling that someone was going to offer me the part of God. I was totally prepared to say, 'Thanks but no thanks,' unless it was a comedy.

I think that we did a really good thing when we elected Barack Obama. I read his books. He is absolutely and totally qualified for the job. He's proven himself to be not only qualified for the job, but very good at it. The things that he's managed to get accomplished in the face of so much push-back is amazing, and I think - this is Morgan Freeman's personal thought - we're going to be in a lot of trouble if we don't reelect him, because the people on the other side of the fence scare me.

You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.

From early childhood, my thrust was to get into the movies.

If you look back on your life and where you started from it's like looking back down a mountain back to the desert floor. It's like now I can't believe I had whatever it takes or perceived whatever it took to get here.

People say it's a movie about boxing, but... I don't agree at all. I don't think it's a movie about boxing. Boxing is like a platform. It's just a stage where this is played out.

That is a big turn-on for me, a director who knows what he's doing and what he wants, and knows when he's gotten what he wants.