The only time it`s ever like work is when you don`t like what you`ve done. I`m very lucky in that I haven`t cultivated fame. Which, from what I`ve seen of my contemporaries, takes an enormous amount of time. I have a lot of respect for people that do it and they`re successful at it ... Especially people that aren`t such talented actors.

I'm a character actor, but I look like a leading man.

Once is more than generous for any lifetime.

Sometimes, I wonder what I'm doing back in Los Angeles, but when you look out there... How can you complain when you see a whale cresting, matter-of-factly, as you make your breakfast?

There was no one around called 'Val' when I was young, so I wanted to be John or Bill. Now I like it.

There are only three reasons to do a movie: the cast, the director, the role. Like I say, you live in a minute of screen time, but to prepare for the minute takes much more than a day. You'd better be excited about what those moments are, even if they're the hardest moments. Or the smallest.

If you're in a hit movie, it's good to be in another hit movie straight away.