I'm an underdog person, so I align myself with those who seem to be not considered valuable in polite society.

I'm preparing for a multimedia theater piece, Airport Music, that's coming up in New York City.

My identity is linked to my grandmother, who's pure Filipino, as pure as you can probably get. And that shaped my imagination. So that's how I identify.

I don't believe in sampling some Tibetan music just to make it sound groovy, but you do your homework, you understand what you're doing with it.

Don't say Fili, sister. Say Pili. In Tagalog, pili means to choose. Pino means fine. Pilipino equals 'fine choice.

Adaptability is the simple secret of survival.

Everything matters. Time is precious.

Hybridity keeps me from being rigid about most things. It has taught me to appreciate the contradictions in the world and in my life. I scavenge from the best.

Life is not simple, and people can't be boxed into being either heroes or villains.

I love writing dialogue, and I think a lot of my writing is visual and very cinematic.

[On The Philippines:] ... eighty dialects and languages are spoken; we are a fragmented nation of loyal believers, divided by blood feuds and controlled by the Church.

Pain in life is inevitable.

Life isn’t how you survive the thunderstorm, but how you dance in the rain.

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy.

We are all human and I want to relate that message to all people.

The only rule is, do what you really, impulsively, wish to do. But always act on your own responsibility, sincerely. And have the courage of your own strong emotion.

I want to do something where I play Judi Dench's younger sister or daughter.

I think the world is an interesting place and I don't think anybody has the firm and final answer to what it is but I kind of assume there's a purpose.

Until one has some kind of professional relationship with books, one does not discover how bad the majority of them are.

I challenge anyone, even with a radar machine, to hit that slider.

I'm a full-blooded Mexican. My mother was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and my father - the son of Mexican immigrants - was born near Fresno, California.