I have a fear of heights that borders on mania.

It's funny because when Jason [Statham] was drowning I was filming with an iPhone. It may have been a bit insensitive but I just thought, "you know what, this was a magic moment". And I couldn't help him anyway because I didn't want to drown.

No one's life is totally morbid. Even on a subtle scale there's little flashes of enlightenment and of happiness and joy.

I love being so tight on people in close-ups that the veins in their eyes look like the Mississippi River.

I think that's become passe, but if you can surround yourself with a kind of monument to yourself and your family - a statement - and you can afford it, then that's a noble project.

'Rocky' represents the optimistic side of life, and 'Rambo' represents purgatory.

Once in one's life, for one mortal moment, one must make a grab for immortality; if not, one has not lived.