"In a lot of cases, the fact that I'm in a movie at all is success enough for me. I 'm blessed that people still want to hire me and pay me really good money to do this. I certainly have no complaints. There are tougher ways to make a living, that's for sure."
"I get paid very well for doing the things I want to do. Why try to get paid more for things you don't want to do?"
"At this point in my life, whether or not my pictures make a lot of money doesn't determine whether the experience was meaningful to me personally."
"a character that I can admire as a person is a character I'll probably want to play."
"It's hard to find room for intellect when action is the imperative. But action, the kind of action that sells tickets--that's not the quality that attracts me to a project..."
"I'm certainly not trying to avoid ethnic roles or anything. I just really try to avoid bad scripts, that's all. I don't mind the ethnic thing. I do mind mediocre, stereotypical writing. That's what bothers me."
"I don't really have expectations that it (one of his movies) has to be a big box office success. Certainly, I'd rather that (happen) but I don't really lose any sleep over it. It's not that I'll fall into a fit of depression."
"I learned after Godfather III that being a movie star isn't what it's about, that a "good" movie isn't automatically a "hit" movie."
"... but for me, the character you play and the actors you work with were all-important. I never counted my pages of dialogue in the script, or worried about billing. If you are good, the audience will seek out your name."
"It deals with your public dignity. The reality is you're in a business where you become, whether you like it or not, a role model for children. There is a certain responsibility that goes along with that. Whether you want to assume it or not is up to the individual."
"I have things in my life that looking back, I'm not completely proud of . But I haven't made the same mistakes twice."
"I don't feel a sense of astronomical fame or anything like that because I really don't get out much. I live a very normal life with my kids, and I don't frequent places where you can be constantly reminded about that. The other day we went to premiere a movie I did about (Federico) Garcia Lorca. We went to Spain, we went to Granada where his home town was and that was sort of overwhelming. It was like Elvis coming to town. There were all these people and I said to my wife, 'I wonder who's here?' because you don't get that kind of thing taking the kids to school in the morning."
"First and foremost I am a father--who just happens to act."
"My children keep me centered. You want to do things that will make them proud. My wife and I hope to set an example. When they are older and come to a time of decision, a crossroads, I want them to think about us and how we lived our lives. You can't preach one thing, and do the other."
"My kids are on my mind all the time when I'm looking at scripts. They're always going to relate to me as a father on the screen, even when they're older. There's a responsibility (there)."
"The only way to teach kids is through example. Just telling them, 'You can't do that! You shouldn't behave that way!' (isn't enough) when, in reality, you don't hold true to it."