I am an atheist, a rationalist and a humanist.

Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.

The nation is bound together by its creative artists and not by parallel lines of rusting steel.

A Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe.

The more I see of the country, the less I feel I know about it. There is a saying that after five years in the north every man is an expert; after ten years, a novice.

I only write books about dead people. They can't sue.

My best advice to writers is get yourself born in an interesting place.

I was hated, you know. I made no secret of the fact that I was an atheist. People told me there are no atheists in fox holes. That's nonsense. [interview promoting Marching as to War (2002)]

I have always believed in trying to be a good person and giving to the world, and treating others in a just, kind, merciful way.

I've put up with more humiliation than I care to remember.

We're failing our children with education, we're failing our environment.

A sudden thought strikes me,-let us swear an eternal friendship.

What good is it being Marilyn Monroe? Why can't I just be an ordinary woman?

If you look closely at a tree you'll notice it's knots and dead branches, just like our bodies. What we learn is that beauty and imperfection go together wonderfully.

As a director you have to - you don't have the option of saying, "I'm not watching this."

Shift from being afraid of making a mistake to being afraid of not making a mistake. If you are not making any mistakes, you are not learning or growing

Even though it seems like there are a lot of parts, there is really tons of downtime in the acting world.

I'm running out of places I can run, looking for a place in the sun.