“I grew up in an artists community in New York, in a building that was government-subsidised for artists. No one made any money, but they made art for the sake of art.”

The thing that stood out above and beyond all the experiences was this relationship with the nine-month-old baby. On weekends, I’d be thinking about going back to set on Monday just to see the baby.

I’ve been auditioning since I was 7 years old.

It’s like you have a child and you think, ‘Everything that I’ve done up until this point is insignificant in comparison to being a father.’ It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Filmmaking is such a collaborative piece of art that you can’t look to one person – you couldn’t look to me, you couldn’t say, ‘Because Vin’s in it, it’s this or that.’ It’s really all of us coming together for that period of time to try and make magic.

You get a timeless cool card in New York.

Of course, I don’t act in an extreme fashion in my day to day life. I don’t think any of us live do. I think we all have that reserve somewhere and we pull upon it when we need it.

I grew up with all kinds of people.

It’s really bizarre because no one knows this, but elephants have killed more animal trainers than any other animal.

I was the oldest of the children in my family. I had to do a lot of diaper-changing and lunch-making. I was taking my little sister to ballet, picking up my brother, sort of being a super-nanny.

I started acting when I was seven-years-old. By the time I was 17 I would say: “If I’m not a star by the time I’m 18, I’ll get out of the business.”

I used to feel guilty about owning a console.

That’s what I love. I love thinking about the film, the project and committing myself as much as possible.

The whole year I was in LA I got into telemarketing and learned how to make money. Five years later that skill helped me make my first film.

I’m not disciplined enough to be a writer consistently. I write when I have to.

Deal-making goes on with any job.

I love women more than anything.

I want to be a mature artist with a different kind of thinking.

I would say I grew without a doubt. My whole energy in life – as an artist and as a person – has definitely got me smarter and wiser.

In a painting, you can’t make out whether the artist painted the left eye before the right eye. In Chinese calligraphy, you can see the progression of the artist’s stroke.

People think Selena and The Weeknd are dating for publicity, and that’s not how things works. These are real human beings. They don’t just date to get more famous. They’re already the most famous artists!

Aesthetic value is often the by-product of the artist striving to do something else.

I’ve been around long enough for people to know who I am and what my contributions are. They know me as more than just an artist. I think they know me as a woman as well.

The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.

I’m not big on make up. I only have a make up artist for events.