The most evocative thing to me is probably when a writer and a group
of performers can collectively put together something compelling
that asks the really simple question: 'How do we live?'
You can't work in the movies. Movies
are all about lighting. Very few filmmakers will concentrate on the
story. You get very little rehearsal time, so anything you do
onscreen is a kind of speed painting.
I'm more likely to lose my temper on a
film set than almost anywhere. Often the level of idiocy is so
exalted that it's impossible to comprehend.
Most filmmakers' entire body of
knowledge is of other movies. When they describe things, they
describe them in relation to other movies. That's why we have so
many cyclical movies that look like other movies. But I'm not
cynical. I even go to some of those movies.
Some directors expect you to do
everything; write, be producer, psychiatrist. Some just want you to
die in a tragic accident during the shooting so they can get the
insurance.
Fashion
I know fashion can be intensely goofy,
but it is something I've always taken pretty seriously.
I always liked clothes; since I was very, very young, I was
interested. I studied costume as part of my theatre education.
I like design, I like details, to me
it is just another form of self-expression.
Life
People always say life is short. I've
never been convinced of that ‒ mine seems to have a tendency to go
on and on.
I find it hard to pre-plan every
element of everything I do. It's not my thing.
I have driven school buses, sold egg
rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life
would have been like if I hadn't gone into acting. Mind you, it's a
great life, going around pretending you're other people and getting
paid ridiculous sums of money for it.
I wasn't really raised to be the type of person to have doubts.
Failure's a natural part of life.
People get up, they go to work, they
have their lives, but you'll never see the headlines say, 'Six
billion people got along rather well today.' You'll have the
headline about the 30 people who shot each other.
If you're too smart it can limit you
because you spend so much time thinking that you don't do anything.
The world is ruled by violence, or at
least the imminent threat of violence. It always has been.
My life before children I don't really remember. I've heard
references to it, but I really don't remember.
