I do understand what it is to not want to commit to someone, knowing that might bring pain or commit to a life that has to do with being responsible to people other than myself. These things, I think, are normal things.
— Philip Seymour Hoffman
People aren't going to throw the kind of money at certain people that they used to.
I got into plays in high school then I ended up going to college for it.
There's nothing risky in talking about your personal life. People do it all the time.
I think you should be serious about what you do because this is it. This is the only life you've got.
It's hard for anybody who works a lot and has children. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I try not to plan that too much.
Vanity is something that will only get in the way of doing your best work, and ultimately if you're truly vain you care more about your work than how you look in your work. I actually consider myself a pretty vain guy when it comes to that.
I don't want to repeat myself.
I've had to make the transition from sweeping in for 15 minutes, doing my stuff and clearing out, to carrying a movie for the duration - in a dress.
I got sober when I was 22 years old.
I think part of being an actor is staying private.
Actors are investigators.
When people don't know who you are, they're seeing your work for the first time. But if they've seen a lot, getting certain things across is a more difficult.
My mum is incredibly intelligent.
I know some really great actors who are pretty judgmental people, pretty critical people. But they're great actors. When they're acting, that's the craft.
Well, in the theater, I think you're actually more responsible for what is going on onstage as a director than you are in film.
I had a father who was a traveling salesman.
No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.
I think therapy is a helpful thing. I think everyone knows it. You do it for your life, you do it for yourself, because you want to explore some things, and get at the bottom of some things. It's about your life, the quality of your life.
It's really hard to watch things and then not think about anything afterwards.
You have to understand that crew members make movies so they're seeing a lot of actors all the time in their career acting.
I've grown to really love musicals, you know?
I think you ultimately have to love who you're playing. You have to have that kind of feeling. You have to have passion for the person.
Good work is the only thing that would make me feel jealous or envious.
My soul is in good shape.
Why you do something is always kind of a mystery to me.
If I don't feel like I'm doing the job well, and I don't know how to get there, or I'm too scared, or whatever, I'm not a happy guy and I'm not pleasant. I'm not pleasant to be around.
The idea that you have a vision of what you're supposed to be, or going to be, or where your kids are going to be - and that that doesn't work out - is always going to be something that's going to affect people and move people.
Yeah, writers do hate writing.
I've worked with a lot of characters that are unhinged. I've played characters that are unhinged. That's, like, my job.
I had insecurities and fears like everybody does, and I got over it. But I was interested in the parts of me that struggled with those things.
Creating something is all about problem-solving.
I think I'm less anonymous than I was.
I've seen a lot of friends who have a lot of great projects, whether it's a script or a play or whatever, and it is a great project and they have great people involved, and they can't make it.
One person's religion is another person's cult.
You can look at anything as a cult. Churches are cults in their own way.
In a film there a lot of people scheduling, you know.
When you become a parent, you look at your parents differently. You look at being a child differently. It's an awakening, a revelation that you have.
Ultimately what I'll do next is up in the air for me.
If you're a human being walking the earth, you're weird, you're strange, you're psychologically challenged.
I know I wasn't as handsome as some other guys, but I was OK with that.
People used to be funny about approaching me, but now they seem to think I'm as sane as anyone who's done what I've done in movies can be.
Plays never feel like the right thing to do at the time.
The ambition, the drive, the wanting to be the center of attention, the wanting to succeed... They're all inside me somewhere.
The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It's like going to get all the ingredients together, and you've got to make sure before you leave the store that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake - or not.
To act well isn't an easy thing.
To be fair to my dad, he is one of the brightest men I've ever met.
Well, I think everyone struggles with self-love.
In film, you have to let go sometimes.
