No one tells you what to do if you completely flop at the beginning of a performance.

I don't want to portray myself as a daredevil. I'm not at all.

The best way to refine an interpretation is by getting out and performing.

I hope I will always have the chance to play the violin.

When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you're telling a story.

You only live once, so I try to say yes to everything.

You don't have to have lots of love affairs to know what love is.

Kids need to be structured in some way, but you don't want to force something down their throats that they have no interest in.

There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a conductor say, 'Play softer,' as they're waving their hands in huge gestures.

Conducting is a strange thing to teach.

Actors want to do Shakespeare again and again, or want to do Hamlet. When you hear one guy do Hamlet and another guy do it, it's going to be a whole different experience.

I learned a world from each / one whom I loved

Laughter can be more satisfying than honor

You have ruthlessness in your bones and ice in your heart, Clarissa. Don't tell me any differently.

The new CIA torture report is 6 million pages long. It's almost as long as a George Clooney pre-nup.

What do I owe my father? Everything!

In drying plants, botanists often dry themselves. Dry words and dry facts will not fire hearts.

I would say that the emotional content of the film [Swiss Army Man] took me by surprise, and sometimes I would probably want to capture the unique tone of it.

You are responsible for understanding your limitations.

I wanted people to see that I really am a real person. I'm not just some guy who was on a TV show, some guy engulfed in the Hollywood life. I'm just a normal guy when it comes down to it.

O God, I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space – were it not that I have bad dreams.