I started as a documentary maker, and they're my first love.

There's something about the lack of certainty with a documentary, which is exhausting if you do three in a row. It's nerve-wracking.

With fiction, I've grown to really love the challenge of lying, the challenge of telling a good tale that isn't truthful, and working with performers is endlessly fascinating. You know, learning what a good performance is, how to get a good performance, how much or how little you need to create emotion or to create character.

I was born at Rotten Row in Glasgow and brought up in Loch Lomond near a small place called Gartocharn. And it's a bit like anyone: where you're brought up, you have an irresistible attraction to that place; it defines who you are.

I don't think of myself particularly as a Scottish director, but you are what you are because the first ten years of your life, and where you spend them, brand you. In that sense, I'll always be a Scottish director.

Like a lot of expatriate Scots, when you want to be called Scottish, it's useful. I see myself as being without nationality, as a European: my region is Scotland; my nationality is European - isn't that a very Alex Salmond thing to say?

I always loved digging away at the story, trying to find out things that people don't want you to find out and piecing it all together. I love the treasure hunt aspect of it, the thrill of the chase.

My grandfather died before I started making films, but I definitely learnt this from him: believe in your own judgment and stick to your guns - 99% of the time, you'll be glad you did.

I went to see 'Francis Ha,' which I could certainly relate to. She ends up wandering the streets of Paris all alone - something I've ended up doing a number of times in capital cities around Europe.

Put someone on a horse looking cold and wet, and they don't have to act. They just are cold and wet.

For me, what works well about 'Life in a Day' is that it's emotionally affecting without being manipulative. It really does make you think about the connectivity of the world, the similarities and differences. It shows the experiences we all go through: birth, childhood, falling in love, having kids, getting ill, dying.

I can't claim my grandfather's work has influenced mine directly, but his life certainly inspired me to follow this path.

I don't read many young adult books.

I suppose that I'm easily bored.

There are two different types of leader. A person can either be like a thermometer or a thermostat. A thermometer will tell you what the temperature is. A thermostat will not only tell you what the temperature is, but it'll move you to the temperature you need to get to.

When it comes to tyrants, dictators and terrorists, strength and the threat of force is the only language they understand.

Budgets are blueprints and priorities.

Outside of the family, education is the greatest determinant of social mobility.

America needs education reform on all levels to expand quality schools, build on past successes, and lower college debt.

Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping.

I think there are changes in the environment. There are a lot of items to contribute to it.

Everybody has a say, everybody has a voice, because everyone that comes to the House had about 750,000 people they're representing . And you want those voices heard.

I don't need a strong EPA. I don't need to fund a lot of money there.

The best thing for the American public is that we do our job. That Washington changes. That the Senate and the House get together and fix their differences and find common ground.

We know the Constitution gives the purse strings to the House.

We have to defend America and be strong.

I will tell you that the special relationship that America has with the Israeli people transcends any of the politics.

The gasoline tax is a user fee, but it does not fill enough of the need, and you want cars to be more efficient.

You can't serve on every committee. But you can know what happened, what the debate was, who said what.

I think there's an ability to make an immigration system that works.

Black holes destroy any objects that happen to fall victim to their gravitational pull.

We can't be afraid to call the enemy what it is: Radical Islamic terrorism.

The challenge has been, we make policy in the world of politics.

Once our country is fully engulfed in a debt crisis, our economy will be torn apart, and every American will be a victim of the federal government's failure to prevent this disaster.

When kids start school, families often have little choice over where they can go. Sometimes, children are forced into a failing school simply because their parents live in a certain district, and that school is the only option.

I do believe in the free market.

The edge of a black hole, the event horizon, is a boundary that marks the point of no return. Once an object crosses the event horizon, it cannot escape and will be ripped to pieces, atom by atom.

America is nation of people striving to make life better for themselves and for their families.

When government grows, it breaks the family.

There's a staircase on the first floor of the Capitol that I walk every day. It's made of marble, and as you walk those steps, you think of those who've walked before you. You think of the challenges that the country's faced.

My belief is you have one chance to make a first impression.

If we engage in a conflict that we know this is a threat to America, we should make it so one-sided that it gets over very quickly.

You cannot be the leader of the free world and sit on the sidelines and tweet and think you're going to get the job done.

I don't come from an Ivy League school or anywhere else.

The principles that should guide American foreign policy are simple: the world is safer when America leads, only strength ensures peace and freedom, and America must stand with its allies and challenge its adversaries.

We pledge to you that we will create jobs. End economic uncertainty and make America more competitive. We will cut Washington wasteful spending and reduce the size of government. And we will reform Congress and restore your trust in government.

When I think of the future, I think of my 15 year old son Connor and my 12 year old daughter Meghan. I worry about their future because your kids are as important to you as mine are to me. And I am unwilling to leave our children with so much debt.

Our government has failed us. From the billion-dollar bailouts to the 'stimulus' package that failed to stimulate to the government takeover of health care, you cried 'Stop!'... but the Democratic Majority in Washington has refused to listen.

I want a leader that sets out a path. I want one that doesn't just talk about cuts, but talks about the shining city on the hill. We're only going to get out of this problem if we grow this economy.

I don't live in D.C. I keep an air mattress in my office.