Some musicians play blues, others classical jazz or bluegrass. I like to play political roles because I can merge my political interests with my creative interests.

I like New York because you're kind of forced to smell everybody else's funk. So it keeps you biologically attached to the world around you.

When you go to a restaurant, the less you know about what happens in the kitchen, the more you enjoy your meal.

I like to do theater and hopefully be effective. Most actors, at least contemporary actors of my generation, can't do it. They don't have the chops.

I think I was afraid of what I might say when I got onto someone's stage or in front of someone's camera.

Shaft was a pop culture figure along t he lines of, I guess, Dirty Harry - except that he wasn't as much of a racist. So yeah, I was always a fan.

The reason why things work is because of love.

Well, I like to be kept on my toes. I look for a challenge. I don't like to recreate steps that I've already walked. I like to see if I can create something new.

As much as we teach our kids, the process teaches us. If we're being diligent, we're learning from our strengths as parents, but also from the mistakes that we make.

New York is the greatest character actor ever. Any film that is shot in New York is elevated by the city.

You're a master on blues piano. The real deal.

Every man with an idea has at least two or three followers.

And God said Let there be light: and there was light.

I played a ton of team sports growing up, and team wins are just incredibly gratifying.

I love things made out of animals. It's just so funny to think of someone saying, 'I need a letter opener. I guess I'll have to kill a deer.

The bad novelist constructs his characters; he directs them and makes them speak. The true novelist listens to them and watches them act; he hears their voices even before he knows them.

I think any actor that says 'I never watch my films' is a liar because you have to watch it at least once and also you're going to watch it when you're doing your ADR.

But then I realize there is never going to be a day when I stand before God and He looks at me and says, 'I wish you would have kept more for yourself.' I'm confident that God will take care of me.

With blinded eyes I stared at the sky, this grey, endless sky of a crazy god, who had made life and death for his amusement.

Frequently a big advantage can be gained by knowing how to give in at the right moment.

If Tim Duncan had Knicks on his jersey, he'd be a god.