It is amazing how, when all possibilities seem to be taken away from you, the minutest opening can become a great freedom.

Every great work of art ... is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.

I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization, reductionism and superficiality.

Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent.

That, of course, is what great works of imagination do for us: They make us a little restless, destabilize us, question our preconceived notions and formulas.

I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.

You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn't exist.

The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.

I eat my heart out alone.

I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.

When I walked down the streets, I asked myself, are these my people?, is this my hometown, am I who I am?

I would rather have 1 amazing best friend than 100 decent regular friends. It's not about quantity, it's about quality.

It is better not to say "lend." There is only giving.

I haven't lost a war. No one got killed. I just lost a tennis match.

Love your enemies and drive them nuts.

A cruel critic has never made anything; his glibness is a way of inflicting his emptiness on others.

A true work of art can stand many seeings, revealing anew at each seeing.

We can't control whether we are rewarded for our endeavours, with cash or recognition. It is not up to us how much cash or time we get on Earth, but it is down to us how we spend it.

My New Obsession... is YOUR DESTRUCTION!!

I was the drummer in a band called Hemsworth for a brief stint, too - it was not very great. I didn't even write the songs, but the band was named after me.

I'm sure Proust was a big bore.