what he says about ...

After River's death, I felt like I was in an altered state. It took me over a year to get my life back.

To me, it`s a crime to sneak in and take a picture of someone dead in their ...  It`s a crime and if I ever found out who did that, I`d probably end up in prison. Because I`d beat the living shit out of them.

River and I would talk about getting old, being in our 50s together, how it'd probably take us that long to get to work together. There was something gorgeous about us being old together. River will be missed - period. I mean now, more than ever I wish I could talk to him.

If someone wants to write about me being in my brother's shadow, that's their prerogative. I can't worry about it, I'm very proud of my brother.

What can I say? We hit it off immediately. She's a darling. I've said it over and over again. She's just very real, right there, never like a movie star. She's so genuine, and she doesn't take herself too seriously. It shows in the work she does that her honesty stands out most.

I knew there was something special between Liv and I from the first day we met. I didn't plan on us becoming lovers but I did think I'd found a great new friend.

I was in awe. Every once in a while you find an actor that, with one word, can sum up eight different emotions. She absolutely nailed that.

Liv and I have a really solid relationship. That's what makes it possible for us to be apart so much. We make sure our time together is quality time."

I`m a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And i know that when Liv and I met, it was for a reason - I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There`s no one gossipy thing that I can share. I`m thankful that we had the time we had.

Liv Tyler and I lived together for three years, but that`s over now. I seem to wander around without a real residence, but the truth is that I want a steady relationship and home and allthat. It just hasn`t happened yet.

I`m a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And i know that when Liv and I met, it was for a reason - I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There`s no one gossipy thing that I can share. I`m thankful that we had the time we had.

People move in and out of your life when both need it. When I met her, she certainly had this spunk, this kind of zest for life and excitement about the future. And at that point, I suppose, I was bitter about a lot of things: about my brother and the press and how ugly everything seemed. Liv helped change my perspective, and that was a great thing.

I remember us being poor. But I never felt embarrassed, or like I was missing anything. I don`t remember the hardship or trying to make it, just how my parents always managed to get through."

In comparison to alot of other people`s childhood ours was idyllic. Our parents were always there encouraging us, trying to get us to express our creativity. I had a wonderful family."

I had a really wonderful upbringing. We were a tight family. It was wonderful to grow up with so many siblings. We were all just a year or two apart, and we were always so supportive of each other. I learned everything from my older brother and sister and taught it to my younger sisters.

If anybody's ever been a big brother to me, it was Crowe.

I've always felt when I was younger that there was something missing. I guess you go through  that growing up -- you want something. As soon as I started working as an actor, I just felt this void had filled.

Acting wasn't a conscious decision. I just sort of fell into it. It was instinctual.

As I`m reading a script, I start to see the character. I always seem to do something to my hair. A lot of stuff I do for a part, people don`t even notice, but I notice, and it makes the character whole for me.

I mean, I get nervous in restaurants! I'm still figuring it out. Once the cameras are rolling, I'm right there, I'm comfortable, I just let go. In between takes, yeah, I'll get self-conscious. It's the process of film-making that I enjoy, not the stuff that comes later. But if you work as much as I want to, your face is bound to get out.

I love acting, it makes me feel good.

I guess I feel I'm being productive and creative when I act. Everybody needs that: photographers, writers. I feel so happy when I'm working. It's what I want to do. Other than that, I can't analyze it.

It's strange. On [the upcoming drama] The Yards, we all -- particularly Charlize [Theron] and me -- had really powerful scenes with each other, where you just know somebody's soul, completely exposed. And suddenly, everyone's packing up, "Yeah, we'll see each other," but it's never going to be the same. I don't know how much you know them and how much you know their characters. It's tough sometimes. I stay in touch. I talk to every director I've worked with, and a lot of the actors also. 

It's really a glorious feeling. I'm absolutely addicted. 

The minute I read To Die For, I knew that I wanted the character to have that Billy Ray Cyrus sort of hair. So I had them put in some extensions and pierce the ear. I thought this was a really ridiculous hair style, and I still do. But it's funny, in Canada, I'm walking to the set laughing about it, and I look up and like 60 percent of the crew has this haircut -- the hockey cut. 

I would do one of those huge movies because I want to experience it. I think it`s probably a lot easier for me to do a scene in which I`m having an intimate conversation with someone on a quiet little set than it is to scream at a blue screen because I think a giant dragon`s penis is trying to swallow me. That, to me, is going to be a challenge.

I`m not in this business for the lifestyle, to get into places and have free drinks.

I hate acting acting - I try to be.

I like to find the heart of characters that in other people`s hands would be the dupe.

The reason I keep making movies is I hate the last thing I did. I'm trying to rectify my wrongs.

I really think that the greatest fear for actors is reaching the point at which they go, 'God, I'm good at this', because I think the work will really suffer.

What's gonna happen to you if you become a teenage heartthrob? - "I'm gonna eat a lot and gain weight. Then I'm gonna scar my face.

I don't give a shit if I look like a freak, look at me right now:this is part of what's so sad about the business. They build you up-they take me, see they make me look pretty, they put the stuff in the hair, put the makeup on, snap the picture-then when they decide that I'm f*cked-up and on the downward spiral, they start using the picture someone's snapped where I've just gotten off a plane, flown all night through 7 time zones and I'm in mid-blink. while they like you, they use the good picture. But when word gets out that you might be doing drugs, when word gets out, right or wrong, that you, gasp, had drinks at a party, they dig up this picture and say Oh, look, he's stoned at the airport, he's stoned all the time.

.. That kind of fame - I coudn`t have it in my life. I love that we can sit on the lawn in Central Park and I`m just one of the millions. I don`t want to lose that. I`m trying to figure out the perfect strategy. And it`s tough. I just want to be right in the middle.

With the work I do, if I feel like I want some materialistic item that`s going to make me happier, if I`m going to look forward to driving a convertible on the weekend, if it makes me feel fabulous, then I`ll do it. 
And I`m not going to think, Well, what about someone else? Because I feel better and I`ve been able to express desires that I have and I feel good, then I`m going to be in the right frame of mind to help someone else out. 

I think that you try the best that you can, but we`re all selfish, we all want something fabulous for ourselves and want to make it. I know people that are like, "I would never do one of those Japanese commercials for a million dollars, two million dollars." Screw you. Goddamn right I`ll do a commercial for two million dollars. Are you high? Fucking-A, I will. I`ll do it for two million dollars and then what am I going to do tomorrow? I`m going to do something good with that money. That`s how I see it. 
But you wouldn`t do a McDonald`s commercial. No, you`re right, I wouldn`t do that.