“You have to treat yourself like a mushroom to some degree, in order to keep on discovering things.”

I have this theory that, depending on your attitude, your life doesn’t have to become this ridiculous charade that it seems so many people end up living.

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.

A person’s age can be determined by the degree of pain he experiences when he comes in contact with a new idea.

You will trust God to the degree you know you are loved by Him.

For a man to attain to an eminent degree in learning costs him time, watching, hunger, nakedness, dizziness in the head, weakness in the stomach, and other inconveniences.

Don’t let people’s compliments go to your head, and don’t let their criticisms go to your heart. The degree to which you do either of these things is the degree to which you’ll be ruled by what other people think of you.

No person will deny that the highest degree of attainable accuracy is an object to be desired, and it is generally found that the last advances towards precision require a greater devotion of time, labour, and expense, than those which precede them.

The pandemic can’t stop your spirit, it can’t dim your light, and it can’t take your degree away from you.

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

Do not measure yourself by success, failure, or a degree. Measure your life by the dreams you have.