There's a real wisdom to not saying a thing.

I was born William. My father was William. I came from a big family, I hated being called Billy. Willem's a nickname; it's a Dutch name, very common in the Netherlands.

The worst thing is to get involved with people who aren't passionate about what they're doing.

The English Patient' is about the coming together of a French-Canadian nurse, an English patient, a Sikh in a turban and me, Caravaggio, and each of us is seeking a resolution to our own problems.

Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to.

I never act. I simply bring out the real animal that's in me.

Sometimes I think women are lucky because they can develop in ways men can't. The old-boy network may be oppressive to women, but it actually stunts men in terms of personal growth.

The mask can be a limitation, but you just deal with it. You do get superhuman strength and pumpkin bombs and all this other stuff to express yourself with.'

You have to lose yourself to find yourself.

Action breeds inspiration more than inspiration breeds action.

I guess they often cast me as the bad guy, because I'm not, er, conventional looking. I look sort of violent. I'm the odd one out, the outsider.

You don't need to be a spook to care about encryption. If you travel with your computer or keep it in a place where other people can put their hands on it, you're vulnerable.

He went in, lean and deadly, and ended the creature with a lightning-fast spike of his blade. It shrieked, likely altering the rest. The death call carried like a mournful song.

Of boasting more than of a bomb afraid, A soldier should be modest as a maid.

Each concession we make is accompanied by an inner diminution of which we are not immediately conscious.

So, your saying choices and destiny shape the course of our lives? "I think so, yes. It's just easier to blame fate for all of the mistakes.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

I always add a year to myself, so I'm prepared for my next birthday. So when I was 39, I was already 40.

My first film role was a reporter. It's funny, because my father was a news reporter. I always thought there was something strange about that.

Confucius does his crossword with a pen.

The Classic Notting Hill junkie, i.e; Armani underwear, Pink's shirt and Burberry belt tourniquets