As a young man, even if I was going to see a play or a film by myself, I didn't feel like I was alone. There was something that was unfolding up there that brought me into it. And I recognised that. For those two hours, it made me feel like I belonged to something really good.

The average movie set is the least political arena on Earth. Nobody bothers talking about politics because, one, we all love the job so much. You don't talk about current events. You talk about old show business stories and whether or not there's gonna be French onion dip at the craft services table that day.

For some people, I will be Forrest Gump for the rest of my life. But that's OK; that's a good thing.

And I'm not apolitical - I'm very specific in my politics. But a lot of the time it's nobody's business unless you're over at my house having dinner.

Mass-market movies have become about one thing. They kind of declare themselves right off the bat. . . . But when I go to see (a film), I want to be surprised. I want to see something I never expected. And when you get that, it should be celebrated.

I view my wife as my lover, and we have a bond that goes beyond words like wife or girlfriend or mother.

If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great.