The basic essential of a great actor is that he loves himself in acting.

I'm becoming a frustrated director, I think, in an actor's body.

Every actor in his heart believes everything bad that's printed about him.

The director sent for me for Tarzan. I climbed the tree and walked out on a limb. The next day I was told I was an actor.

It was actually a relief for me to play an actor who was scared, who didn't know where everything was, who didn't know what buttons to push, and for me to be able to play all that.

As an actor, the second and last ones were interesting for me. Because those parts had the most change in playing someone who was both light and dark, sort of Jekyl and Hyde.

It's an incredible privilege for an actor to look into the camera. It's like looking right into the heart of the film, and you can't take that lightly.

I want to try and do as much as I can as an actor. So far I think I've done pretty well with being a minister's son. And now I know I'm pretty darn good at playing a woman too.

If you're going to be born ugly and be an actor - the least they can do is let you play Lincoln.

I've been just like any other working actor, out there looking for stuff.

Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn't matter how good you are.

Dakota Fanning is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. I don't know what a child actor is. She's an actor who's a child.

I don't think I could be happy as an actor if there was a tyrant on the set.

As an actor, it's fun to play guys who aren't just locked into a male pattern, but a lot of guys you're asked to play are fairly macho and have a certain rigid standard they're living by.

Trying different things is very important to me. I see people and want to wear their clothes and drive in their cars for awhile. That's probably one reason I became an actor.