I define talent as the rate at which you get better at something when you try. To be very talented means you get better faster and more easily than other people or other things that you try.
One of my biggest disappointments is watching the trailer for the second 'Lord of the Rings' film and having Gandalf in it. Why? You know, he died in the first one, why give it away in the trailer just to try and sell a thousand more seats? It's daft.
My background is all comedy. I've been doing improv since I was 17. It's funny, because when I meet people, I'm known as this guy who will punch you in the face or throw you out a window, when I also have a background in comedy.
It's very tempting to over-eat all the bad things when you're on a film set.
You have to, at least from a distance, look as if you know what you're doing, and I can manage that.
You don't need to wear Spanx if you buy my clothes. The dress, the trousers, the pencil skirt - they should do the work.
It's when children are 15, 16 or 17 that they decide whether they want to be a doctor, an engineer, a politician or go to the Mars or moon. That is the time they start having a dream, and that's the time you can work on them. You can help them shape their dreams.
Calories from protein affect your brain, your appetite control center, so you are more satiated and satisfied.
When you start out as a filmmaker, you do parodies, because you can't really compete on a studio level.
The only thing you're taking out of here is your spirit and your soul, so we need to be conscious to try and develop that part of ourselves, because we're all spiritual creatures.
If you manage to stop the timber industry from cutting this forest, they'll cut that forest. If you stop oil drilling here, they'll go drill there.
I don't think you can ever be ahead of your time with cynicism about that subject. No, I don't think it was ahead of its time. I think it was very much a product of its time.
Every time I listen to Jeff Beck my whole view of guitar changes radically. He's way, way out, doing things you never expect.
You kind of invite a little spooky, creepy vibe into your whole experience of making a movie.
Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you fit right in the mold, you get rewarded. Music is no longer a form of expression - it's a means to a lifestyle.
I love travelling, but I have to admit I didn't initially take to Agra in India. As soon as you arrive, someone wants to show you around, take your bags or sell you something - and it's just a bit of a culture shock. You just have to make the necessary mental adjustment to the setting.
It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.
Sisyphus, you know, had an easy life.
Your ethnic or sexual identity, what region of the country you're from, what your class is - those aspects of your identity are not the same as your aesthetic identity.
I think regardless of what your religion is or what you believe, you try to treat people in a positive way, and that's all you can do in life.
I just love doing broader work - I always get asked to do fairly heavy-duty, intense dramas and interesting, psychologically intense characters. But you know, it's nice to make people laugh sometimes.
Black culture is a fight. We want to hold on to what we are, but sometimes the things that we are can be totally negative. You have to think: can't we try something new and not be seen as suspect?
I think TV is much more the writer's medium and film is about the director and their vision and how you can collaborate with them and see that through to the end. They are so different.
Stand up and face your fears, or they will defeat you.
You know that a given in life in human nature, is that at a sporting event, a baseball game, a football game, you never introduce a politician, is because he'll be booed. I don't care if he's the most beloved person in the world, its part of the game.
It's so rare that you actually get to find a really well-written female lead.
I know that if I'd had to go and take an exam for acting, I wouldn't have got anywhere. You don't take exams for acting, you take your courage.
It's obvious you shouldn't steal, kill or be cruel.
I used to be able to do the Chinese splits, where you open your legs sideways.
With my students, I always have to sell my subject because I know when you're 19, 20 years old, you've got other things on your mind besides American history. What I have to do is make this as compelling as possible.
You never get over losses. I've never gotten over one loss I've had in my career. They always stick with me.
Sometimes when you have a song, you listen to it and say, 'It's OK. It's music to drive to.' But then there are songs where you can actually hear it as a movie.
Get as rude as possible and don't let anyone tell you how to live.
We never want to go into a tour and play 15 songs and say 'Enjoy.' We have messages: Number 1, follow your dreams. If I can do it, you can do it. Number 2, give your life to something. We say, 'Volunteer and add seven years to your life.' You can have your own personal ministry. The message we have is 'What do you stand for?'
Walk into a Chase branch and we can give you so much quicker, better and faster. Like Wal-Mart.
I've been in, like, kids' clubs... I've been in the Boom Boom Room in New York, and the kids are going, 'Oh my God, you produced 'Arrested Development?'' They aren't talking about 'A Beautiful Mind' or '24.' It's like the only thing in my whole career was 'Arrested Development,' literally.
