To know you are in the company with people who love and care for each other, as well as for whatever they are working on, is almost essential.

Why live outside the US? Do you want health care or safe food products or democracy or something? They're all overrated. Stay for the excellent cable TV.

Acting is no longer about lying. It's now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Honesty is the best policy.

We are very lucky to be men because women have a terrible time getting older parts. It's much more difficult.

Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend... they can all go drifting by unseen if youre not careful.

I suspect the base that I'm working from is not particularly one of inquiry, but of memory of what I did last time.

In the theatre, the actor is in total control. The director wasn't in the house last night, the designer wasn't there, the author's dead. It's just us and the audience.

Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I've ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of lies that I hadn't even realized I was carrying.

You can always pick out stage actors at the Oscars: they know how to walk.

Actors are merely the medium through which a story happens.

I'm dead against the idea that you should try to "cure" people of being gay.

I’ve often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction.

I often thought my gravestone would say, 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out,'

Greed is good! Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the U.S.A.!

Every empire eventually falls.

It's a phenomenon that I see with young actors - a lot of American speaking parts going to British actors.

Suddenly you've worked yourself up to the top of the pecking order and you say to yourself, okay, this is going to be fun.

When you're making pictures out of heartfelt passion, it hurts when someone calls them a calculated business move.

A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.