I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.

The important thing to me is that I'm not driven by people's praise and I'm not slowed down by people's criticism. I'm just trying to work at the highest level I can.

I like villains because there's something so attractive about a committed person - they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They're motivated.

I want to make movies that pierce people's hearts and touch them in some way, even if it's just for the night while they're in the cinema; in that moment, I want to bring actual tears to their eyes and goosebumps to their skin.

At 49, I find it a little bit difficult to run these days. I've got grade four tears in both Achilles, shin splints, I got no cartilage the toes in my right foot, I've got bone marrow edemas under both knees, I've got one degenerating hip - that's the problem you get.

I have a new horse. I get her to come to me from half a mile away. With just a simple call. That's because she knows that when she's with me, she's taken care of. She trusts me.

I'm not one of those fellows that is just going to have a psuedo-middling relationship.

Do I think Cate Blanchett is the most spectacular creature that ever walked the planet? Yes, I do.

We can't repay our good luck with bad grace. It invites darkness.

Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.

If there's anything about someone's life that's important enough to make a movie about it, I have to take responsibility to get all of it right. It's a huge responsibility.

What we do in life echoes in eternity

I've loved Danielle Spencer since 1989 - that's never going to change - and that's one of those things where I stare at her and go, 'How did it fail?' I still can't work it out, because my feelings for her have never changed.

Once you're a parent, male or female, every single thing that happens in your life is seen through the prism of being a parent.

I can rely on me [being a director], unlike some actors. I never got anything less than what I needed from the lead actor.

I think that if there are problems in journalism they're created by journalists... the trivialisation of the news and the sort of snyed, cynical allowance of untruth to be in a newspaper because it might be titillating.

My bottom line is that I think Ridley Scott is one of the greatest visual artists of our time and I feel very privileged that he wants to work with me, so I go with that flow.

I am a man that has a lot of respect for faith and spirituality. I think it is important that we talk about religion in today's world.

You can't understand it until you experience the simple joy of the first time your son points at a seagull and says 'Duck!'

I don't know if I was ever looking for this kind of success- it came along as a by-product of concentrating on what I was doing.

In tyranny lies only failure. Empower every man and you will gain strength.

You need to learn to live with your mistakes. And you need to be in a position to say No once in a while. It's important in life, and it's important for any career that you want to pursue.

If you live like it’s the past and you behave like it’s the past, then guys from the future find it very hard to see you.

My kids are being raised in a much more affluent environment than was mine. My wife and I talk about that all the time because neither of us had this kind of experience.

I've followed Leeds since I was a little kid. I used to come home from sport in the afternoon, me and my brother, and watch 'Match of the Day.' I love the club. I want nothing but success for the club.

I didn't get married to get divorced.

I'm a virtuoso in my job in that there's not an actor I can't go into a scene with and be absolutely confident that, whatever is required of my character, I can do it.

My days, if they start in the morning with a cuddle from my son, are just so much more glorious than they were prior to that.

I don't play chess with my life, ya' know.

I respond in the moment which is what makes me a good actor.

Like everyone else, I've had moments when I've felt that I've been losing my grip.

I'm destined to be attracted to those I cannot defeat.

I really feel sorry for people who are, who divide their whole life up into 'things that I like' and 'things that I must do.' You're only here for a short time, mate. Learn to like it.

I'd move to Los Angeles if New Zealand and Australia were swallowed up by a tidal wave, if there was a bubonic plague in England and if the continent of Africa disappeared from some Martian attack.

God bless America. God save the Queen. God defend New Zealand and thank Christ for Australia.

There's nothing like sitting back and talking to your cows.

People accuse me of being arrogant all the time.I'm not arrogant , i'm focused

Meg Ryan is a beautiful and courageous woman. I grieve the loss of her companionship but I've not lost the friendship. We talk all the time and that was what our connection was about. She has a wonderful mind and we just like a chat.

Directing is like looking at the stars on a cloudless night. You get away from all light sources, and you look up, and you see 50 points of light. And a minute later 100 and another minute later 1,000 and then 10,000. And then this swirling gigantic carpet above you, and somehow it all seems to connect.

If you grow up ... in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable, this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, it's possible.

Every building you come out of, there is a parasite there exercising his constitutional right to make money out of being a parasite, trying to take your photo. Frankly, folks, I go to work, I do my job. I really concentrate, and if you go to the cinema, pay your money and have a good time. That's the end of it, as far as I'm concerned.

When I was a young fellow, I used to learn the dialogue backwards. The point is that in a conversation between two people, you can't have already made the decisions about what you're gonna do. You gotta be very light on your feet. That leads you into areas where conversations can have a much bigger, grander meaning.

My definition [of genius] would be about being completely involved in your art form. So that's outside of sciences. Within the arts it's about taking people on a journey, being able to involve me completely-whether you're singing a song, whether it's in the theater, whether you're dancing-if you can make me forget I'm sitting in a seat, that's my definition of genius.

Sport for me is about inspiring kids. Here's the rules, here's the play area, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This is all about teaching kids how to approach life. If we're not playing sport to benefit kids, I'm not really sure why we play sport.

In my life there were times when dreams have nothing to do with reality, but obviously they were prophetic dreams. And I know that if we look closely and listen carefully, we can see the supernatural signs that determine our future. We all meet with various everyday difficulties and overcoming them, we grow and develop.

Even though Noah is in the Koran as well. But we knew going into this project that you can't make stories or render images about the Prophet. But I do believe people are missing out if they don't have the choice to see this film.

Iceland is fascinating; really an amazing place to visit, and great for a film to go there.

It's such an intimate experience, being a director, artistically. It's deep and it's satisfying and it's wonderful, on so many levels, but it's also really scary.

Are you not entertained?

The secret to riches is the same as the secret to comedy - timing.