Sam Rockwell

It's hard to make a good movie in four weeks. It's hard. I've done it, but it's not easy.

I think any good actor is an anarchist. They have to be.

I try to steal from the best. Suck it all in. 'Taxi Driver' is really a bible for film actors, a master class. A lot of emotional power, a lot of emotional depth but it's contained and you just see the tip of the iceberg.

I've studied a technique called the Sanford Miesner technique, that teaches you how to focus. It's mainly about daydreaming. And the technique's really about imaginary circumstances. Using your imagination to sort of daydream about stuff. It makes you emotional in a scene.

One thing that bugs me in comedy is when somebody does a fake cry, you know, like they fake cry in a comedy. But in a drama they'll really cry. That bugs me.

Well, you know, it's fun to sign autographs still for me. I don't sign that many.

I have memories of films that nobody ever saw, that I was very proud of, and those are still great memories.

I think a lot of theater actors that were great, like Walken or Glenn Close, later became film actors.

I grew up on films.

Some actors don't want to, but I prefer to. I like to collaborate. Sometimes you have to keep it to yourself, and people want to do their own thing.

I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.

I had a great time with John Duigan; he's pretty amazing.

I've done a lot of sorts of films that are under the radar.

I saw things at an early age because my mom was a theater actress. I did a play with her when I was 10 years old.

Clark Gregg and I are around the same age. He has been an actor and is a writer. But with a first-time director, there is a way to talk about things they might not know. Because Clark was an actor, though, he knew more about the process than most first-time directors.

I always do drama. It's just that some people laugh at it and some people cry.

I do everything I can to have a diverse career because I just want to have options. I know that I can do Hamlet or I can do Stanley Kowalski, you know.

Good acting is good acting, however you learn it. Some people who haven't studied are amazing. Some people like Leonardo DiCaprio are naturally gifted - he's learned technique by working with people early on.

I took a break after 'Confessions.' I was real picky. And then I suddenly realized I hadn't worked in a year. And I was sort of, like, not really happy. I think people are happier when they have structure, you know? You realize that as you get older. You have to have rituals and structure.

My parents were both actors; my dad sort of quite early on. My mother acted for a while, and now she's a painter.

I did some martial arts training for 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,' since the character was an assassin.

Anjelica Huston and Kelly MacDonald are both really special. Anjelica has such a fresh point of view about acting and doesn't seem jaded at all. She seems more like a student and yet she is veteran actor who really brings it.

Hollywood constantly wants to label you and type you into a certain category, 'Oh he's a comedy guy,' or the weirdo character guy or the villain.

It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.

I don't keep secrets from my parents, really; it's pretty open.