In Hollywood, you tend to get pigeonholed to certain genres, and then when you try to do something different, it's not always so easy. Obviously, you don't want to keep repeating yourself, all the time. So, it's a constant struggle for every filmmaker and actor to find something that you can really feel passionate about. It's a profession like anything else.

It proved to be pretty impossible to get funds for a feature film in Finland. It's still small, but the film industry was miniscule at that point in the early '80s.

I was making films when I was about 12 years old - Super-8 films.

I believe the important part of directing really is finding the right people for the right roles. Sometimes you go for what's expected, and sometimes you go against type because you think that'll really bring something different to the movie.

I feel like I learned very early on that your heroes are only as powerful as your villains. And I'm attracted to intelligent villains.

When I make decisions based on other circumstances, things don't necessarily go so well. So sometimes, even if something seems commercially tempting, I've learned that if it's not what's in your heart, it's probably not what you should do.

A government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation funds filmmaking there, and I wrote several screenplays but never got any money. They were sent back to me, and they said that they were too commercial for them.