Failure is never quite so frightening as regret.

I can tell you where I was when Kennedy was shot - which was in the common room at school. I heard about it on the old valve radio. At the time of Armstrong's landing, I was at university rehearsing a play.

I think you need brains to do any Shakespeare with any authority. I could do Shakespeare, but not with any authority.

This was only Taika Watiti fourth film [Hunt for the Wilderpeople], but I think he brings a very original way of looking at stuff and I think if you look at Boy, for instance, which is a beautiful film, that was his second feature, and it's heartbreakingly sad, but it's also simultaneously very funny. There are not many people who can do that.

I hate to say it, but there seems to have been some sort of dumbing down as far as movies go.

If you want to learn about America, watch The Wire. Its a profound piece of entertainment.

I like actors. I like their insecurities, their humor and their intelligence.