I'm not unashamed to say that I like movies that make me verklempt.

It's funny what actors take issue with. Some won't do parts where animals are in jeopardy; some won't ever play anyone remotely unlikable - 'Heroes only, please.' Some won't do violence. I have no such qualms.

For me, the battle is finding the balance between wanting to spend time with my boys and then having enough perspective to still be the disciplinarian and, like, not be in the best friend business.

To be counter to the culture, you are by definition willfully and actively ignoring the culture, i.e., reality.

Individuals usually do a better job than the government.

I'll be sober ten years and married nine soon.

JFK is a role I've always dreamt of playing.

My son Matthew's beloved dog is a Jack Russell. His name is Buster. Matthew picked him as a puppy, when he was tiny himself.

I learned to focus on what's real rather than imagined; on not letting feelings drive the bus; on being courageous and honest; on putting my total effort into something and not worrying about the result.

I think part of maturity is knowing who you are.

It took being famous to make me cool, which, by the way, I never forgot.

The first shooter video game stuff which - look, admittedly, I missed that generationally, so it's not a thing for me. I've never played them. I don't really get it. My kids do.

I only pray when it suits my own needs. I'm not proud about that.

I've come to really like Twitter. You really do get to see what I'm about, and I like sharing with my fans.

Some actors specialize in shooting weapons and punching people. Some have the market on playing buffoons cornered, others specialize in roles that require heavy makeup or outrageous wardrobe. Some trade exclusively in a post-ironic blase attitude.

Every relationship has its complications.

I signed up for 'Brothers & Sisters' because I think it's a really great show. I like my character, and I'm really interested in what he has to do every day - and this cast is so spectacular. I really wanted to work with this particular group of people.

I've been around for so long, people have their perceptions of me: good, bad or indifferent.

There is a movie called 'My Dog Skip,' starring my 'Outsiders' costar Diane Lane. I do not recommend it. If you have a child, particularly one about to leave home, watching this film is to be emotionally waterboarded.

I liked being a teenager, but I would not go back for all the tea in China.

Marriage is becoming sort of fake. It's almost like a handbag. Everybody wants the newest, greatest and latest. It becomes an event, and it's definitely a status symbol in our society. I'm not saying it shouldn't be; it absolutely should be - but you shouldn't be focusing on that.

When I got sober, that was 1990.

A few years ago, I got to a point where I realised that the only way you can tell someone's age is how they live their life. The candles on the cake mean absolutely nothing.

I've always written a little bit. I mean, I've written screenplays, and I've doctored my dialogue for years, and I've written speeches - I was a speechwriter on 'The West Wing,' so I like that kind of thing. But I never really thought I'd write a book.

I've gotten to believe it's more fun to play politicians than actually be them.

My parents did divorce, but my dad has always been present for me and loving me and my mom as well when she was alive.

Let me just say this - sometimes being a trailblazer is highly overrated.

I'm what you would call an 'independent moderate.'

Equality for everybody is great. That would be amazing.

My hopes and aspirations haven't changed since I started in this business. They've been to be able to play drama, to be able to play comedy, to be able to play leading men, and to be able to play character roles. I have no other aspirations in this regard.

The minute you start making calculations about what people will think of you as a person based on your work as an actor, you're on the road to becoming a bad one.

Of the many horrors of divorce, the most egregious is that it robs a kid of the best of both worlds. Dads can do many things that even the best moms can't, and vice versa.

After my parents' divorce when I was 4, I spent weekends with my dad before we finally moved to California. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was incapable of enjoying the day's activities, of being in the moment, because I was already dreading the inevitable goodbye of Sunday evening.

I love anything by Joan Didion. Incidentally, she was one of the local moms when I was growing up in Point Dume. She always reminded me a little bit of my mother, so I feel a great affinity. I love the precision of Didion's writing. There's a construction and a craftsmanship to her sentences that's imbued with so much emotion.

For sure, without question, the writing is better on TV pound for pound than movies because the businesses have changed so much. So all the great writers would rather work for TV, and they do.

I've always been involved in politics, since I was 8 or 9 years old. I sold Kool-Aid for McGovern - I could always pick a winner.

Can we understand - just for the record, we do need the government for a lot of big ticket items.

I sadly never got to my prom. I was shooting 'The Outsiders.'

Sampling, statisticians have told us, is a much more effective way of getting a good census.

Tom Ford, who is my all-time favourite, once said to me, 'Here's the thing about dress shirts, Rob. You need white, and you need black.' 'What about blue,' I asked. He said, 'Have you ever seen Cary Grant in a blue dress shirt?'

Things that I consider bad qualities, I always try and figure out where they are coming from. I don't consider ambition to be a bad one. It's served me very well in my life. Very well.

One of the interesting things about Twitter is looking how famous people choose to use it. Take someone like Steve Martin, who I follow: it's all sorts of comic gems, nothing private, nothing personal - all jokes. Other celebrities are overtly personal - like Charlie Sheen. I do a mix of observations and updates.

My greatest regret at the passing of America-hating strongman Hugo Chavez is that he didn't live long enough to party with Dennis Rodman.

The Kennedys are our royals.

If you are worried about what people think of you, you should go into politics. Real actors take chances.

I'm a sportsman, you know, and I shoot skeet, and I grew up in the Midwest, so that's a part of my culture.

Getting married isn't going to make your relationship better. It's just a ceremony.

I like doing things that are different, unexpected, and where I feel that either the role feels like a natural fit for me or it's a really big swing that I don't know if I'm going to connect on.

I love London.

I'm perfectly flawed... I've got tons of flaws.