Those who have the power and should be the most responsible are often the least responsible.
— Viggo Mortensen
It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.
When I have a day off, I won't spend it at a Hollywood party. I'd rather be at home with paints and a blank canvas.
I prefer the smaller acting than big histrionics. It's about reacting and looks, which is often underestimated.
I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating.
You know, real life doesn't just suddenly resolve itself. You have to keep working at it. Democracy, marriage, friendship. You can't just say, 'She's my best friend.' That's not a given, it's a process.
I was raised in Argentina until I was 11 and now I go back there a lot, at least twice a year. It's a country where I feel very comfortable and it represents an important period in my life.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.
I hate divers, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who might be the greatest athlete in the sport, but he's a big baby. If things are going well he's great, but when things are going badly it's the ref's fault, it's his teammates' fault.
I don't like the 'must', the 'always', and the 'never' words. I don't like 'no' either.
I have a work ethic. If I say I'm going to do something, I do it.
I have no idea what 'method actor' means.
'The Road' is about that fear that all parents can have - 'What's going to happen to your child if you're not around?'
People like to pigeonhole you. It's easier.
It doesn't take that many years for a kid to realise that they're going to die. It's always there in the back of their mind the rest of their lives.
Jung viewed Freud as a mentor, but he never wanted to be anybody's disciple.
Like most people I can be lazy, so it's nice to have a goal or deadline or reason to work out. I feel better when I get to exercise, or when I'm outdoors. I like to hike, swim and run, and I love to play soccer.
I'm not that involved in personal grooming. But I try not to be offensive to people.
A little recognition is not a bad thing because it means people appreciate your work. The only problem is when you can't walk down the street or have a meal without people looking at you. I want to be the one looking at people.
I'm not a great fan of monarchy in general, but I have to say the Danish monarchy is closer to the people; it's not as stuffy as the English one.
You know, Freud accepted his lot very stoically and very well and with a sense of humor. He aged and died gracefully, and there's a lot to be said for that.
Some people who like dogs don't like cats, but I'm not like that.
I don't like people who get into fights about football - or anything else.
I realise how important it is to use the time I have. I respect people who want to do that by watching television. I happen to want to read books. But I know I can't read all the books or watch all the movies in one lifetime.
Each time I make a movie, it's like a paid scholarship to a different university course.
There's no sense in doing something, especially if it's a hard job, if you can't have a little fun.
One of the most effective tools that the Cheney-Bush junta has used to marginalize dissenting or even mildly inquisitive American citizens has been the accusation of being unpatriotic.
Most actors can't make any kind of living.
I would literally climb out of the cradle while my parents slept, go and crawl off. I did this a couple of times apparently. I'd cross the road and into someone's house, wake them up banging pots and pans in the kitchen.
It's not the end of the world if I can't get a film job, or if a movie doesn't turn out well - even though I don't like it when that happens. There are other things I enjoy doing, and I involve myself in them.
Some actors learn the habit of promoting themselves as a brand - by dressing in a certain way, by going out with a certain person - it gives them what they obviously want, which is to keep a level of fame. I'm not putting it down.
A lot of times, movies that are in the top 10 lists or maybe even win Baftas or Oscars, you then watch them a year later and you go, 'Maybe it wasn't so great.'
I have never been in a natural place and felt that it was a waste of time. I never have. And it's a relief. If I'm walking around a desert or whatever, every second is worthwhile.
In a movie, you're raw material, just a hue of some color and the director makes the painting.
Nobody really knows anybody completely, even if they've been married to 'em for 53 years, you know?
I like a twisted sense of humour. On 'A History of Violence,' David Cronenberg and I would be doing the grimmest scenes and laugh a lot.
Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense.
Sometimes you look at a movie and you can see that the actor or actress said, 'I'm taking this onboard because I'm making a ton of money, and not because it's going to be something special.'
I try to avoid conflict. I don't want people to be unhappy.
The Holocaust movie is almost a genre in itself these days.
Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is.
You see people on the street yelling and think they're crazy, but maybe they're just happy and expressing what they feel at all times.
The money I earn from films means I can help the people I want to help - you can do a lot of good if you want to.
Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.
I try to research or make up for myself what happened in any character's life. From when he was born until the first page of the script. I fill in the blanks.
It's true that I have a wide range of interests. I like to write and paint and make music and go walking on my own and garden. In fact, gardening is probably what I enjoy doing more than anything else.
Anyone can identify with those moments in life where circumstances or people inform us that we've strayed from the path of our better nature and intentions. We know what that's like, and we resist it - so as not to feel like we're bad people.
If in my twenties I'd gotten one of the two-dozen roles that I did screen tests for and almost got, I think I would have become bored with the awards circuit, the whole hype machine.
Freud was the son of a Jewish merchant who had to move his whole family to Vienna because he couldn't get work. He, as a boy, had to watch his father be mocked and abused on the street for being Jewish... You develop a thick skin and you develop a certain kind of wit to defend yourself.
There's no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there's no excuse for boredom, ever.
