When we started it we were all punk rockers, big Clash [The Clash] fans. We didn't want to do the theatre that was being done at our university theatre department. We had a different idea of what theatre could be. We wanted the energy we felt when we went to punk shows, that drive, that sweat . . . Why shouldn't actors commit like that, too? Show less «

For me, the artist always comes first. It's what you do, it informs every area of your life, every decision you make in your life, just as being a butcher or a librarian might do. I think we find our activism from specific experiences in our lives. With me it was growing up in Greenwich Village in the '60s with a bunch of bohemian iconoclasts. So the activism is important, but you can't make great art unless it's motivated by the art. Show less «

Your job as an actor is to lay bare the emotions. You want to achieve an honesty and a truth in the way you portray a character. It's the same with music and with the dynamic of the performer and how you relate to an audience. Regardless of what kind of stage you're going onto, whether it's movies or theatre or music, you're taking people on a journey. But the thing about music is that it's your story: no one else has written the script. Show less «

All baddies are complex characters with redeeming qualities. When I played an Afrikaner police officer in Catch a Fire (2006), I had to throw my beliefs aside and look into the humanity of people who've done terrible things. It's when you meet these people and break bread with them that you start to empathise. When you hear their stories, you can understand why they did what they did. That doesn't justify it but, in any situation, anyone is capable of rationalising bad behaviour. So much so that you start to believe that it's good behaviour. Show less «

A movie script is a malleable entity when you're shooting and should be able to become different things and should be able to be rewritten at the last minute. Show less «

[on Miss Firecracker (1989)] That was my first mononucleic performance. I was in such a bad mood and sleeping all the time. I couldn't understand what was happening because I'm usually so energetic and committed to what I'm doing. The last day of shooting I found out I had mononucleosis. Show less «

Hollywood is full of closet Republicans, and also you're sometimes not sure who your friends are. When the whole Bull Durham (1988) controversy happened there were three people who came very vociferously to our , all either very conservative Democrats or Republicans - Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Jack Valenti. And how many liberals? I didn't see any. So I am not one that makes a judgment on someone because they are Republican. I know enough Republicans that are decent people, they love their families, we might have differences of opinion but we can find common ground. Show less «

I'm six foot four and a half and I have a temper.

Clint [Clint Eastwood] - he's a revelation, a gem. A gentleman. A man who's very loyal to people he works with. He makes you realize that you don't need a lot of noise and bells and whistles to make a movie. You need simplicity of focus and professionalism. Show less «

I don't want to be working for the sake of working. I don't want to spend my time doing something I don't love. But, at the same time, everything leads to something. Howard the Duck (1986) seemed like a great idea at the time. It was George Lucas, who'd just done the Star Wars trilogy. It was a lot of money. I wound up getting paid twice for it! It fuelled my theatre company for a couple of years and provided me with great creative freedom. If they'd cast the duck correctly, we might have had something there. Blame it on the duck! Show less «

I think the world needs a good Viking movie [1989, before the release of the flop Erik the Viking (1989)] Show less «

I actually have a couple of inches on Morgan [Morgan Freeman], and I won't say where. Ha, ha! It's true, there aren't many actors as tall as me. So it's great when you do meet one who is. It's great to look someone in the eye, rather than getting a little neck ache. Do I find it difficult to play ing roles, being so tall? I never think about it that way. Perhaps the tallest person should have the most lines in a script. Maybe that's how it should work. I like that idea. Show less «

I would love to see the Hank Williams story at some point. It's a great tale and the music is fantastic. I'd also like to see the Bob Marley story, and I'd love to see a film about Louis Prima and Keely Smith. But, biography-wise, I might be more inclined to make a film about someone who wasn't that well known. There's all kinds of interesting musicians who never had their stories told; there's a ton of obscure musicians from the '60s, or the punk era, who would be ideal. Show less «

I'm fairly competent as a director and actor, but I am Mr. Neurotic as a writer. I just don't have enough confidence in my abilities to take criticism well. I take it personally. Start with 'It's a masterpiece,' and then tell me what you think could be changed. Show less «

[on his screenwriting] I always write from an actor's perspective, which is writing dialogue that fits comfortably into one's mouth, as opposed to dialogue that is strained and defective. Show less «

[on Mystic River (2003)] Eastwood [Clint Eastwood] shows you a model of how to do this as a living and not torture yourself. He doesn't waste time; he does one take, maybe two if you're lucky. There are no bells and whistles, hissy fits or anxiety attacks. You come to work no earlier than 9 a.m. and you leave, usually, after lunch. You've created a really good movie and have a life. I thought "Mystic River" was really great. But we didn't have to torture ourselves for it. Show less «

[on Lou Reed] I love Lou. I've met him a few times. Man, "Street Hassle". I can listen to that album any time. Show less «

[on his father Gil Robbins] The most important thing I got from him about music is that it is something that is a legitimate way to make a living, and it's something that must have a discipline behind it. As a kid, many times I would come home from school and dad would be working on his compositions, writing an oratorio. I his musical notes were quite beautiful. So I considered it something not to be taken lightly. It's something you do because you have something to say and feel you have a story to tell. Show less «

We have right now a media that is willfully ignoring the high crimes and misdemeanors of the president of the United States. [Bill Clinton] lied about a blowjob and got impeached by the media and Congress. [George W. Bush] got us into the Iraq war based on lies that he knew were lies . . . His war has recruited more Al-Qaeda than Osama bin Laden could ever have dreamed for . . . yet no one in the media is calling for impeachment. Unfortunately, the book and the play is more relevant now than it ever has been. It talks about continuous warfare as a means to control the Western economy, and as a way to control rebel elements within society through the use of fear, constant fear. In my country we seem to be sanctioning renditioning of innocent people without trial . . . put them in jail without telling anyone . . . and torture them out of suspicion of what we think they might do. This is exactly what [George Orwell] was talking about when he spoke of thought crimes. Show less «

I am an obsessive vinyl collector, although I'm not good at filing. But I am a Luddite when it comes to music. I have an iPod, but things sound so much better on vinyl and cassette. Cassettes are a very underrated medium. My old ones still sound terrific, way better than any MP3. Pity it's so hard to buy a tape deck these days! Show less «

Haven't criminal acts occurred in government? Shouldn't there be ability for inept policy decisions? Shouldn't someone be fired? And you know something? I didn't hear any of that, because I am still thinking about that starlet getting out of the car without the panties. Show less «

There are scripts that you don't want to touch at all, that are so brilliant that you just have to figure a way into the character, and that's your job. There's other stuff that you have to fill out on your own and flesh out on your own. I try not to get involved with rewriting. I don't think it's necessary for an actor to do that. I think it's necessary for an actor to say, 'This doesn't ring true. Is there something else we can do here?' Show less «

[on turning 50] I'm at a stage in my life where I have a certain confidence. Of course, there's always got to be a fear, a self-regulation. You never can believe you're hot. I think that's the death of you, when you start believing you're a great actor. I've run into those people. Anyone's capable of a shitty performance on a given day. It's more important for me to be in work that'll be around 10 years from now. I have enough money; I'm not greedy in that way. I think longevity is the key. Show less «