“All of the muscles were gone, so that was a real tough time of rebuilding all of that. But you have a deadline, you have an obligation. You’ve said that you will commit to this part, and I just can’t live with myself for not really giving it as much as I can.”

My dad was the biggest influence on my life because he was never boring.

It’s got to do with putting yourself in other people’s shoes and seeing how far you can come to truly understand them. I like the empathy that comes from acting.

I start from scratch with each movie; I wipe the slate and I certainly don’t rely on some bag of acting tricks I’ve amassed over the years.

Art is something to be proud of. Art is no compromise. As an actor, you’re giving it up, you’re at the mercy of so many other people.

Essentially, I’m untrained, so I just go with my imagination and try to put myself as solidly as I can into the shoes of whatever person I’m going to be playing.

The art of survival is a story that never ends.

As an actor, I don’t feel like it’s necessary to watch a great deal of films. In fact, I think it can lead to imitation and unhealthy competition, which just isn’t needed.

In terms of the romantic kind of lead, I just never enjoy those movies very much. Maybe they’ll come to interest me more as I get older. I doubt it, but maybe. Romantic comedies tend to be, for me, an oxymoron.

And being as I’m somebody who loves movies like The Machinist, I also love going along to big mass entertainment movies. I get in the mood for all kinds of movies, and so I like to try each of them.

I feel like I’m pretty good but I don’t like to toot my own horn, you know. I want to let the work speak for itself and kind of move on to the next thing.

I think trying too hard to be sexy is the worst thing in the world a woman can do.

Whatever you do, do it completely. Don’t do it half-arsed. Do it more than anybody else would.

The only thing that I’m obsessed with is sleeping, and actually, it is more than an obsession, it is a pleasure.

The only thing I would unequivocally say is that I have never had any interest in romantic comedy I just couldn’t do it. I think I’d be terrible.

I find what I do for a living really funny. I mean, acting is kind of a hilarious thing for a grown man to call a job.

Putting on weight is easy all the way through. But after the first couple of weeks, the novelty wears off very quickly, and your body is groaning and starting to really shout at you, saying, ‘Why? Why? Why? Why are you doing this?’

I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.

Sometimes it’s the people who have the most baggage that become the most attentive and committed partners.

Anyone can quit, but it takes a strong, committed person not to quit when times are tough.

If you decide to plant a seed, commit to watering it.

Unless I understand the Cross, I cannot understand why my commitment to what is right must be precedence over what I prefer.

We commit two wrongs when we fail to right a wrong.

I also do my own processing, so it means a big commitment in lab time.

Everybody comes into a relationship with baggage. We can either trip over each other’s stuff, or unpack it together.