America is an empire in decay. But we don't have to lash out and do damage on the way down. We can reverse some of the damage we've done. It's possible.

I'd like to, when it's all said and done, say that I have at least a few stories that I feel proud of.

Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense.

I don't have a BlackBerry or whatever you call it. And there is something to be said for being isolated and out of phone range, because you can fall into a habit to such a degree that you don't even realise that you've lost something: silence.

Being an actor, imitating to the point of inhabiting the lives of others, may simply be a way of continuing to do what I learned to do as a boy - to travel, mentally and physically.

You can't really divorce yourself and your life from the world you live in.

The Road was a movie that has a good reputation, even though it wasn't released very well, but that's a movie I'm very proud of.