The umbrella that I live under is that you must be truthful with everyone except when to do so would injure them or others.

You show me someone who's led a perfect life and I'll show you a dullard.

At the time, The Hotel New Hampshire was John Irving's favorite adaptation of his work, which meant a lot to all of us who worked on that movie.It's amazing to me that that was a studio movie. That was a summer studio release! If that doesn't tell you how much the business has changed, nothing will.

I enjoy experiencing life. Being a celebrity can really stand in the way of that.

I think it was Alfred Hitchcock who said 90 percent of successful moviemaking is in the casting. The same is true in life. Who you are exposed to, who you choose to surround yourself with, is a unique variable in all of our experiences and it is hugely important in making us who we are. Seek out interesting characters, tough adversaries and strong mentors and your life can be rich, textured, highly entertaining and successful, like a Best Picture winner. Surround yourself with dullards, people of vanilla safety and unextraordinary ease, and you may find your life going straight to DVD.

Trying to execute that kind of intricate staging in the West Wing at the same time you're doing intricate dialogue - it's like patting your head and rubbing your stomach!

I'll be a role model on my terms, but don't make a role model on your terms.