- I'm not a boy now. I'm a man, I hope. I hope I've had my artistic bar mitzvah somewhere.
- I'm just mystified and fascinated by women, and I'm still single. Hence all of that, and the fact that I celebrate them so much, I understand that I'm unevolved at this exact moment to share my life with one. I wouldn't inflict that upon anyone yet. But, I'm getting closer.
- I'm not a pretty boy who came to town and burst out of the gate, which is a good thing, because if I was, I probably wouldn't have been good enough then. I probably wouldn't have lasted. So I was very lucky not to be pretty.
- [on how to make an impression in small roles] From the get-go, I'd keep talking and never stop. Literally, I would take single lines and just keep going. In Runaway Jury (2003), there are so many great actors but I got lucky because I'm standing next to Dustin Hoffman! That's the secret; Get next to him and they can't cut you out!
- John Cusack and I have been friends since childhood, and the fact that we're in so many films together is, no pun intended, serendipitous. I audition and, after I find out I've got the job, I call Johnny and say "Hey, man, we're going to be in New Orleans together". And because we've done a bunch of films, people connect the dots. But that's not the case.
- When I was in London I saw Ralph Fiennes in "Brandt". My mother and I went to the stage door, because we were so blown away by it. We were just gushing American fans. And then this guy went, Omigod, Jeremy Piven!" And he started giving it up in a very un-British way. It was a strange moment.
- [on Chicago] I have a place in Chicago and I get there as much as I can . . . The city is so unbelievably beautiful. It's one of the greatest cities on the planet. My heart beats differently when I'm in Chicago. It slows down and I feel more at ease.
- It's your job as an actor to fill out the blanks. I love doing that. To fill in the bones.
- I'm a stage actor. That is what I do.
- If I have a rapper like Common rolling hard with me at a club and I hand him a microphone and he hits five songs in a row and the crowd goes crazy, I don't feel guilty about drinking on the house.
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