No one wants to know how clever you are. They don't want an insight into your mind, thrilling as it might be. They want an insight into their own.

I have very fond memories of swimming in Walden Pond when we lived in Boston. You'd swim past a log and see all these turtles sunning themselves. Slightly disturbing if you thought about how many more were swimming around your toes, but also rather wonderful.

Bore children, and they stop reading. There's no room for self-indulgence or showing off or setting the scene.

Madness doesn't happen to someone alone. Very few people have experiences that are theirs alone.

Acting is an incredibly gratifying, creative experience when you're doing it. But in the off-season, you want to scratch that itch, and writing has become that to me. It's a really pure form of creativity. It's good for my mental health in the same way reading books is good for me. It makes the day brighter.

Music inspires contemplation, dreams, and the imagination.

The crucial discovery was made that, in order to become painting, the universe seen by the artist had to become a private one created by himself.

I just wanted to do this all Australian film and we didn't want to give creative control to overseas 'cause whoever comes on my sets, whether you're sweeping the floor or an actor, it doesn't matter who comes up with the ideas, it's a collaboration.