Quotes

I've always looked at my career as an athlete would look at his. I won't play forever. Some don't know when to walk away, but the smart ones do.

[on his delight for starring in Walt Disney's Invincible (2006)] It's a movie my kids can see - my nieces and nephews. I haven't had that. None of my nieces and nephews have seen Boogie Nights (1997), thank God! I haven't made too many PG movies.

[His reaction to his Oscar-nomination for The Departed (2006)] Any time someone says you have an opportunity to work with Martin Scorsese you jump at the chance.

Marty and I were constantly in this struggle. I had problems with Marty. He was "I'm Martin Scorsese... da-dee-da." He was pushing me in different ways. But it wasn't just Marty. The whole time I was in the character so I was mad at everybody. It was Leo, Matt and Jack. Fuck Jack too. We were able to laugh about it afterwards and we have a great relationship now and we're going to do other stuff in the future.

In my movies, I'm not trying to erase any old image of myself, really. And also I'm not trying to imitate anyone or follow in their footsteps, because I know, Burt Reynolds was just one of the people that told me this, I know how you can only last in this business if you got something special to offer, just by being yourself. Imitators don't last, and I'd like to last.

[on Boogie Nights (1997)] It was a showstopper, and it had a good screenplay, a real story. It also helped Burt Reynolds' career, and now I can more sympathize with that, now that I've been in the business a fairly long time, so I can see how doing a comeback that's popular and also critically liked is something rare and real special.

[on David Beckham, jokingly] I'm not telling Beckham to take his family home. I'm just not sure why he came to America in the first place. Man, we don't want your soccer. There's no way Americans are going to buy the idea of 90 minutes of running around without much happening. Thanks for trying guys, but we'll stick to baseball and basketball.

[on George Michael being sent to prison for driving under the influence of drugs] I was 16 when I went to prison but he's been busted a couple of times. He should get a driver or go to Amsterdam where pot is legal. But my heart goes out anyone who goes to prison. I pray for him.

I like to talk to people. I've got one assistant, one Blackberry. That's my overhead. I don't text that much or email. I like to sit down face-to-face and have a conversation with you. I'm old-fashioned.

[on narrowly avoiding being on hijacked 9/11 flight United 93] If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, "Okay, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry." We certainly would have tried to do something to fight. I've had probably over 50 dreams about it.

I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes. You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mom.

I don't want to let my guard down and feel too comfortable. If you become complacent, you start feeling entitled. I'm ready to go dig ditches if I have to. Whatever I gotta do to provide for my family. Whatever I gotta do to make sure that I do the best possible job at whatever wonderful opportunities I've been handed.

For actors who sit there and talk about, "Oh, I went to SEAL training." I don't give a fuck what you did. You don't know what these guys did. For somebody go sit there and say my job was as difficult as being in the military? How fucking dare you, while you sit in a makeup chair for two hours?

I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother, an uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me, a good follower to those who are serving God and doing the right thing.

Actually, you English people always get to play Americans but they never let us play Englishmen. So if some great 18th-century English royal role came up, I could go over there for two years. I could become that character. And I tell you what, I'd kill it.

[about his criminal past as a teenager] No, I don't have any problems sleeping at night.