American people are not evil. Given information, they will do the right thing. But they’re not given the information.

Most good actors have a huge intelligence about the human condition and a real open heart to different kinds of people and behavior.

My philosophy is, don’t take no for an answer and be willing to sacrifice your entire project for freedom.

I learned never to listen to acting teachers because they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.

You had to know how to fight or you had to know how to avoid a fight. I didn’t enjoy fighting, so I learned how to avoid them.

When we think about the authoritarian world that Orwell painted, the catchphrases are one thing, but when you read the book again, the specifics and relevance for now are stunning. Orwell may have been 20...

I’ve been lucky-my looks haven’t put me into one category. I don’t look like a blue blood. I don’t look like a criminal. I don’t look like anything.

Any time you’re trying to do a movie with a happy ending, it’s very difficult because it’s been done before and you don’t want to be manipulative.

My father described me as the oldest baby he’d ever seen. I apparently was very serious and reflective.

I’m the kind of person who does not remember bad things.

I like Spike Lee a lot. He’s incredibly gifted and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves as a filmmaker.

This was a sham from the start and they knew it. And that’s why they shouted us down – because they didn’t want public opinion to grow against them because they knew they didn’t have...

I’ve long ago compromised my eight hours a night.

Considering the fact that I’ve used it in the past, and know what it is, and seen the results of it, I don’t view marijuana as a dangerous drug.

New York is not conductive to theater. New York does not encourage its young. It does not encourage experimentation.

Americans accept that gangsters are running the government.

I mean, what are they scared of? Who’s going to vote for anyone from the Communist Party, for God’s sake?

I’m a huge fan of college basketball, and I take my kids to the Final Four every year. I got lucky this year that my alma mater is in it.

I’ve used drugs that I do consider to be dangerous, drugs that are potentially detrimental to kids and society at large.

Directing is creating a whole. You’re able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.

Susan is just great. I know I’m biased, but she’s a great actress.

I just have this unnatural fascination with Elvis. I guess it reminds me of how important perspective is. You know, watch out or you might wind up wearing really silly costumes with Hawaiian leis.

I ran spotlight. Swept up. Did box office. Ran the lighting board. But acting was the most fun.

I think she did great. I’m very proud of her. It’s great for her, it’s great for Broadway.

If you find yourself in a movie that you have questions about, it’s not a compromise to your integrity.

There is no question that [Dan] Quayle is an uneducated idiot. But someone, somewhere cleverly realized that the best diversion from Bush is to put on a clown show.

I couldn’t care less about being a presenter at the Oscars.

There are a great number of Republicans who are economically conservative but have hearts and a consciousness about their country.

Every man dies. Not every man lives.

I started getting on my feet and clowning around, and they ended up putting me in a play when I was 12. And I was hooked.

Bush is very clever. When the debate should have been about the deterioration of our cities and the lack of action by government, he sent in his idiot to make an outrageous statement about Murphy...

If you’re in the position to help someone and you do it, it’s very rewarding.

I love iconoclasts. I love individuals. I love people that are true to themselves, whatever the cost.

I don’t care about Clinton’s haircuts or his affairs or any of that stuff.

There is absolutely no way that I would enter that world. I would never run for office.

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.

I think the enemy is self-censorship. In a free society the biggest danger is that you’re afraid to the point where you censor yourself.

I’m six foot four and a half and I have a temper. It’s reserved for very important issues. If someone is asking me to make an artistic concession, then I’ll become a madman.

Is Walt turning over in his grave? A man named Joe Roth runs Disney right now-he gave me the go-ahead and total freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.

Our resistance to this war should be our resistance to profit at the cost of human life. Because that is what these drums beating over Iraq are really about. This is about business.

I don’t know if I ever really bought into the eternal damnation bit.

There’s nothing more boring than unintelligent actors, because all they have to talk about is themselves and acting. There have to be other things.

Every day has been a joy on this movie,

I was a sports fan, but I also went to peace marches.

A chill wind is blowing in this nation.

It was dangerous to hit the wrong kid in my neighborhood, because a lot of the guys I played with had fathers in the Mafia.

There are dumb actors. But there are dumb politicians and dumb bakers.

I don’t think people have been able to deal with the fact that African American filmmakers can make movies about life and relationships.

There’s the theory that nudity doesn’t really make something sexy; the characters and their relationship make it sexy.

The story (is) about the common person who is able to rise to those acts of freedom, … and oddly enough, history has not celebrated them.