It's hilarious to be considered a sex symbol. In school I was a beanpole with a nose I hadn't grown into. Being thought of as sexy makes one employable, but it's not going to last forever, so I try not to think about it. It's like something that exists outside of me.

What could be better in al-Qaeda's mind than to have India and Pakistan going at each other? What more to further their aims?

I can work hard and be disciplined like a soldier, but I could never reach their level of fitness. I have a whole new appreciation of soldiers. I saw myself on screen and thought, 'That body is so not hard enough to be a soldier.'

You have to remove your human sentiment when it comes to greed and the accumulation of wealth.

I'm the only honest person in Washington.

The war we are fighting today against terrorism is a multifaceted fight. We have to use every tool in our toolkit to wage this war - diplomacy, finance, intelligence, law enforcement, and of course, military power - and we are developing new tools as we go along.

I'd have described myself as a Tolkien reader before this, but now I'd describe myself as a Tolkien geek.