There are people in America who are absolutely desperate right now, who have no means to support their families, who have no opportunities to better themselves or their education - and they're not that different from the farmers and working-class people that I visited when I went to Kenya with Oxfam.

Everything you do is different, and you find different chords in every character that you play that strike true with you.

I love to sing. I don't think it's strange for singers to act, or painters to sculpt. I don't want to ever feel like I'm cornered into one expression of creativity because I'm successful at making films or being an actor. I guess it's best to not paint yourself into that corner.

I’m not telling people where to give money, but if there is to be a spotlight shed on me, then I’d like to direct that spotlight onto causes I think are worthy or onto interesting, progressive figures.

I've always loved Louisiana and particularly New Orleans, and I think a lot of people when they travel there, think they're home there - there are just so many spirits, it's so rich in culture. It's steeped in a true spirit of individuality that makes this country. It's the oldest part of our story, in a way. And being in that climate, it was really conducive to letting our imaginations soar. I found it to be the true inspiration.

We are supposed to be liberated in America but if our President [George W. Bush] had his way, we wouldn't be educated about sex at all. Every woman would have six children and we wouldn't be able to have abortions.

There's no such thing as an aura of mystery anymore. It doesn't exist. That's a thing of the past.