I was a lawyer for 10 years, and when you're in law, things really have to get done, or somebody sues you. It's a great trick.
The smartest thing I did in law school: asking my future wife to go out dancing with me. The smartest thing I did when practicing law: quitting. The smartest thing I've done in writing: following my own head and writing what I wanted to write, and nothing but.
When I was 28, I made this film called 'Drinking Buddies' that I starred in and produced, and we improvised the entire thing, and it was a complete exercise in freedom of expression in making something for only the purpose of making it, not for recognition or money or anything else, and it's still my favorite thing I've ever done.
Tender Mercies is a very low-budget film, but it was a huge budget compared to anything I had done in Australia. My fee for Tender Mercies was something like five times all of my Australian films combined.
If I hadn't done 'Harry Potter,' I would have gone and done years of art. I really do love it, and I'd love to write.
If I wanted to be a pop singer, I would have done that 20 years ago. I love country music.
I don't think, as a player, I have a weakness on the field. I've done a great job of becoming good at everything, so I think that's what separates me.
I don't regret anything and what I have done in my period of my life. Everything happens for a reason, and that's why I am here.
One important theme is the extent to which one can ever correct an error, especially outside any frame of religious forgiveness. All of us have done something we regret - how we manage to remove that from our conscience, or whether that's even possible, interested me.
I think when writers play with dragons, we are simply doing what fantasy writers have always done.
I don't even know why, but I've just always done it - I don't walk on handicapped parking spaces. I don't like to step on the blue lines. I always step over them. I don't know what the deal is. I don't know if it's a fear of injury, or a disrespectful thing, or if I just don't want to think about something like that happening.
I've done two albums for Concord Records; one was with Al Jarreau and it did very well for us. The second album was called 'Songs And Stories,' and it had good songs and good performances, but I promised them I would do an album that was more jazz-oriented.
I think civility is important to getting things done.
Work done by other people sounds easy. How hard can it be to take care of a newborn who sleeps 20 hours a day? How hard can it be to keep track of your billable hours? To travel for one night for business? To get a 4-year-old ready for school? To return a few phone calls? To load the dishwasher? To fill out some forms?
I don't need the credits for playing the blues and paying the dues. I've already done it. There are some other things to do here - movies and scores and voice-overs.
We should learn to take genuine pride in a job well done and not expect praise for one simply carried out.
One night I was standing on Third Avenue playing my guitar, when this big Irish policeman came strolling by, and stopped to listen to my singing and playing. When I was done, he politely handed me a ticket for disturbing the peace, while at the same time telling me how much he liked my voice. I wish I still had that ticket.
New York is fantastic, and I've done several films in Los Angeles which I really enjoyed, but I don't think that America is the be-all and end-all. I'll follow the good work wherever it may be.
Let's just get a deal done then let's worry about expanding it.
If we are ever in doubt about what to do, it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done.
I've just done a commercial in the U.S. in which I talk about stocks, shares and bonds. Everyone is amazed. They ask me: 'You really know about that stuff or did you just learn it for the commercial?' I tell them I wouldn't do it unless I understood and had an interest.
It's not a science when you are judging art, but we'd be remiss to say you can't look at something and say, 'This is more well done than that.'
This sounds like a brag, but I know how to make good fried rice. I learned in college. There are two secrets - take the rice after you cook it and let it get cold in the fridge. Then cook the egg like you're making a fried egg and just before it's done, dump the rice and veg on it and swirl it around.
Business leaders should provide expertise in service of our country. My predecessors at GE have done so, as have leaders of many other great American companies.
Day-to-day, I don't wear make-up, my hair's not done, and I'm in ripped jeans and a Bonds tee. But doing red carpets is just part of work.
I love working out. It's my release. I've done it since I've been in the military.
I've done about 15 movies and four television series in Mexico. My last two movies were the highest grossing in Mexican-cinema history - 'Nosotros los Nobles' and 'Instructions Not Included.'
There's a point at which writing a book, or a long article, begins to feel like mental labor, and it's too painful to connect in the world in any real way mid-process. The only way to survive is to write until it is all said and done.
I've had a hip replacement, I've beaten cancer, I had my hand operation, and I stopped drinking. Something inside of me just went, 'I'm done.'
I work hard, and managing an inventory-based business can be extremely stressful. The upside is that, as long as I get my job done, I can take time off pretty much any time I want.
At the end of the day, it is about the album and book and also about setting the record straight, because 'American Idol' has done a great job of defaming my name and throwing a lot of mud at me for the past two years. So that set up a lot of roadblocks for me.
I don't spend much time listening to the records when they're done. Usually I let go of it. Especially in the Eighties and Nineties - they were like product, almost.
It's very important for us to see that science is done by people, not just brains but whole human beings, and sometimes at great cost.
I could be making a lot more money now if I had chosen a different kind of movie, but none of that matters to me... I've done the parts I wanted to do.
People see you on television, and they think you make the same amount of money that Clint Eastwood does. But this is PBS. All these shows are done for free.
I'm sure everyone that has ever done an action movie has just drooled over how full of talent Bruce Lee was and how unique he was.
