“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.”

I like the idea of movies having a magic element. How many times have you seen an actor in a movie who you know only as the character? It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

It was a great honor to be called a mo-fo by Sam Jackson.

People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man I’m flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed, but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.

I don’t personally look to my own life experiences for answers about how to play a scene.

If you’re doing your job properly, you take the risk of feeling slightly foolish and delve in and bring out the emotions.

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.

I’ve had some painful experiences in my life, but I feel like I’m trivializing them by using them for a scene in a movie. I don’t want to do that. It just makes me feel kind of dirty for having done that.

It’s very easy to leave when things go wrong, but to stick around and to basically give life to a town because of everything that it gave you generation after generation after generation, that to me is what defines a true American.

I always leave that for other people to decide, because some of the things I consider to be disasters are some people’s favorite movies. And that’s what I like so much, is that you never know. Something intrigues somebody and means nothing to somebody else.

Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people have got to have their faith rewarded.

I have a fear of being boring.

We’re all conning ourselves, one way or another, just to get through life.

If everyone really knew what a jerk I am in real life, I wouldn’t be so adored in the slightest.

I never want to feel that I’m playing it safe.

I would have been very happy just cruising around and enjoying the unexpected. I’ve never been ambitious.

Research can be interesting, but it can be pointless as well. The realities of making a movie often are not conducive with that. I’m not knocking it. I love doing research myself, but I admit it doesn’t always add to the performance.

There are 16 year olds competing at the olympics and I still push on pull doors & struggle getting through the whole day without a nap.

And it was a great experience, you know, to travel the world and compete at a certain level. It teaches you discipline, focus, and certainly keeps you out of trouble.

Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if they stopped.

Acting is not a competition; everything must be done for the good of the film or else everybody loses.

I love to get behind the wheel and get competitive.

I don’t feel I have to top myself at all.

Without competition we would be clinging to the clumsy antiquated processes of farming and manufacture and the methods of business of long ago, and the twentieth would be no further advanced than the eighteenth century.

When I was a teenager, my dad used to put a lot of pressure on me to be successful, and I’d really beat myself up about things like losing martial arts competitions.