Political scientists have often described Gaullism as a sort of Bonapartism. I myself have occasionally compared Sarkozy to Napoleon Bonaparte.

One cannot build a future based on the description of a criminal past.

I was never a believer in decline.

Those who claim France as a nation-state is obsolete are wrong.

If reading isn't about communication, it is, in the end, about sharing. But a deferred and fiercely selective kind of sharing.

Those who have succeeded at anything and don't mention luck are kidding themselves.

As a reader, I'm often put off by authors and story-lines without families or children and all of the angst and joy they bring with them.

Things do not change; we change.

Even with mental health as well as physical health, it's about taking responsibility and knowing that you're part of the solution always.

So I didn't pass. It was the army's decision that they didn't want me to go into the service. They're the boss. I don't want to say no whole lot about it.

The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.

I am interested in the size of your intention. It is better to overstate the important than to understate it.

I had a really great experience so far with film acting. And most experiences from most actors, I've heard, are not like this. But I want a career that has many disciplines and many options.

I'm very budget-minded myself, and it serves me well.