“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.”

You make movies for the people. If critics happen to like them too, well, that’s a home run.

I’m a perfectionist. I’m very critical, especially artistically.

The most important thing in life will always be family. The people right here, right now.

I believe in paying special attention to every project that you do and supporting the projects you do.

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.

Ignorance and arrogance are the artist’s and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway.”

I came out to L.A. to be a songwriter and not an artist, and I’m so excited because I always secretly wanted to be an artist.

The technology keeps moving forward, which makes it easier for the artists to tell their stories and paint the pictures they want.

The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.

Every artist should want to be like Michael Jackson.

I sometimes just don’t like to see the Ultimate Fighting. I just find it, as a martial artist, I just find it too violent.

If I’ve made it a little easier for artists to work in violence, great! I’ve accomplished something.

No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.