As an actor, the toughest thing is being subject to circumstance. Meaning: What scripts are out there that are available?

To be called a genius at 17 or 18 years old can sometimes cause arrested development.

I want to do some bigger films, so long as there’s some sort of exciting creative element or a good filmmaker behind them.

I don’t like to spend a lot of money on haircuts: I’ll sometimes grow my hair and get an acting job and get them to cut it for free. I think for a lady, though,...

Certainly, being on stage is a rush.

I don’t like tight pants on guys.

I love filming in New York. I love New York movies, too. I just like it when people can take New York and make it their own, because there are so many different New Yorks.

I love Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC.

New York is kind of a mythological city in may ways.

I like listening to my playlist on the iPod. I don’t want radio with commercials.

Robert De Niro’s sort of like a surfer: he doesn’t really force anything. So if he catches the wave, or something spills out – to watch a guy be a force at what he does....

At the heart of drama is conflict.

When I’m not acting, I like to go home and be really normal. So I usually grow out my hair until I get the next part.

I’d love to do a really broad comedy at some point.

I started acting pretty young, so I haven’t had too many odd jobs. But I used to sell candy out of my locker in middle school.

I am baffled by good writing.

I don’t normally like getting dressed up, but when I go to events, I like to look put together. I’ve got to say, getting in a nice suit feels good.

I think the idea is to try and understand everything about the characters and where the character is coming from, from their point of view, why they say what they do. And not, ‘Oh, but...

I like a restaurant called Bruci, and there’s some really nice people who work there and good food. They change their menu a lot, so maybe that’s what keeps me coming back. I never know...

Nobody is a perfect actor.

I like movies a lot, and I feel really excited when I see a movie that moves me the right way.

The whole being-in-a-room interview thing, at a junket or a film festival, is very inhuman. You meet the person, have five or 10 minutes to talk, and it’s not like a conversation.

I remember going to the theatre when I was little and the lights going down and just getting really scared about what was going to happen up there.

You try to get to know your character as best as you can before you start filming – what’s written and not written.

When I’m not excited, it makes acting very hard for me.

Everything you do, every experience that you have, enlightens you a little bit or worsens you.

I approach every role from scratch.

I don’t really know what kind of actor I am.

I volunteered at a homeless shelter in preparation for ‘Being Flynn,’ and when I’m walking along the Bowery, that’s the first thing that comes to mind. That’s a nice memory.

Spring and fall in New York are the best seasons here to get out and about. I like the little park in Dumbo between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge. I like Prospect Park.

One of my favorite films is ‘Dumb and Dumber.’

I like the idea of finding parts that I know I can do but I don’t totally understand them right away.

There’s a lot of people that I would love to work with. There’s a lot of different kinds of parts I wanna play. As your career progresses, you hope that you get some more opportunity...

Let’s say honorary favorite New Yorker is John Lennon, and favorite real New Yorker is Biggie, because he’s the best.

Even when I’m alone, my life revolves around film. I think that’s why I live in New York, not L.A., where it’s so concentrated.

Your director is your main support – actors don’t generally give each other advice on set, not in my experience.

I used to write a lot of songs. I was an English major in college. I was a deluded poet for a year. Totally deluded.

I love Brooklyn; it’s a part of who you are.

I don’t want my learning curve to be stunted by just all of a sudden doing work all the time and not being careful about the work that I’m doing.

I’m a sucker for period pieces. There is always great opportunity for research and to delude yourself into feeling like you are in a different time and place.

When my girlfriend’s away, I cook a big vat of meaty pasta and sauce and eat that for about a week. Then I eat out the rest of the time. When she’s home, we eat...

One thing you notice is, there’s a lot of people with raw talent, and then there’s people who take that talent and work hard.

I mean, to feel in good hands as an actor… it’s the best feeling.

With somebody like Harrison Ford, they’re so commanding and confident, and you know, he does have a certain power or charisma, and those are things that are sort of ineffable.

In tragedy, it’s hard to find a good resolution; it’s not black and white: it’s a big fog of gray.

‘Looper’ was a wonderful script. Rian Johnson is the real deal and a really talented filmmaker.

George C. Scott, man, was a powerful dude.

I really don’t want to go to work every day convincing myself of what I’m saying. I want the material to make me a better actor; then I try to return the favor to the...

‘Little Miss Sunshine’ was really important to me.

I’m a private person, but I don’t feel afraid to walk out of my door or anything. I get recognised occasionally, but not overwhelmingly so.