Matt Dillon Quotes - Page 2

Obviously all religions get corrupted by man. The initial ideas are interesting but once they get organized they seem to become about politics and other things and they get misinterpreted. . . . Have faith but do the work. Live your life right. Dont expect things to happen. Thats why Im put off by magical realism.

The first music I was ever exposed to was Irish folk music, like the Clancy Brothers. My father plays that and Christmas songs.

I do get bottled up in interviews. You're thinking about what you're saying, and suddenly you get all tangled. So people think I'm sullen, or that I don't have much to say. But my friends will tell you: a lot of times I talk too much.

Actors don't generally go asking other actors for advice too much, but I'll take suggestions wherever I can.

It was being young and sensitive and an actor. There was a lot of pressure, everything was a hurdle.

Of course, if you're gonna make movies, you gotta make movies, and I'm not gonna say no to a good role.

I like to do comedy, but I'll be perfectly honest, I prefer to do drama and more character-driven-based stuff, generally.

I think anytime you can do something you haven't seen or done in a film before, it's always a great day as an actor.

It's really nice to be able to do something that you've never done. I think that's the gift of being an actor because I get to play a cop, a racist cop and I've never done that before. It's nice to inhabit these other worlds especially when you get to work with great actors.

I'm not the greatest boyfriend, but I'm not a creep. It's more like I'm... absent-minded.

I don't worry about whether a character is likable, as long as the character is believable.

It's important to air your concerns and fears with someone you trust. When you're honest about how you can change and grow, and where your weaknesses are, then you open the door for improvement and change.

I grew up with the white picket fence. My dad went to work nine to five, and he had a station wagon.

The great, rewarding thing about directing is that you're overseeing the whole thing. When you're an actor, you're just one department.

One of the things I've learned over the years is that you only do what you can do as an actor. You do the best job you can, but you have no control over so many elements that are going to determine the outcome of that film. I never pay attention to what happens after.

It's a pretty good job being an actor, but it's work sometimes. And when I say work, I mean it's a job.

Acting is very competitive. There are few good scripts out there and the ones that are good are very competitive. You look at your options and often times they're not too appealing.

I look for really great characters. I say great because as long as they're really good, there's something you can do. And really good storytelling. And when people ask me what the story is, I say it's really several stories really. They're intermeshed.

My driving, I've been accused of not being the best, most safest driver.

I had acting teachers, and one of the things that was encouraged was to keep it fresh, to be spontaneous. That's the magic of film often.

I don't like movies where everything happens fast. I like the buildup, the obstacles, the mystery.

I have always wanted to play different kinds of stuff, but it's hard, first to find good material, and then to change people's perception of you so they'll let you do it. I mean, I would really like to play a poet, but once they get this notion of you as a street guy, it's hard to change that.

I like conflict, drama's conflict and if you don't have that in the character it's really not a worthwhile role to play for me.

I think a lot of directors, they come out of film school, they don't know anything about acting. Or they're writers that don't know anything about the process. And I think they're afraid sometimes to talk to actors and be honest with actors.

The growing pains of being an actor, that was a little frustrating at times because you feel like you have great capacity to do many things. And yet there seems to be a misunderstanding about who you are and what you're trying to do. And that requires patience, and people eventually will understand.