- “Nothing ends nicely, that's why it ends.”
- “Saddam has committed many crimes against humanity and against his own people.”
- “There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in a body.”
- “I've never made a film that I didn't believe in, you know? However the picture turns out, I've always given everything to it. That's kind of how I approach life. I can't help it. There's no part-way with me on anything in any area of my life.”
- “I love kids. I was a kid myself, once.”
- “I've never done work for money ever. If your choices are based on grosses and the film doesn't do well, what does that mean? It leaves you with nothing.”
- “I find that, especially with children, they want to contribute. Even my kids, when they come in and they mess up the work and I'm busy, but they are just trying to help out, so I always say, 'Thank you.' That's how I am with them and I find that they're happier and I'm happier as a result.”
- “I love what I do. I take great pride in what I do. And I can't do something halfway, three-quarters, nine-tenths. If I'm going to do something, I go all the way.”
- “When you become successful in any type of life, there are people who are not contributing to the motion.”
- “I take no pleasure in having to be here today, but it is the last recourse to counter the vicious lies that have been printed about me and my family,”
- “As a kid when I was growing up, I remember vividly being on the roof of my family's station wagon, and across the street was the Sahara Desert. I always wanted to see other places and learn about how other people lived. I began to travel and saw different cultures even within America.”
- “What I find sometimes that is tricky is if actors are using too much of their own life in a picture, in a scene, they get locked into a particular way to play the scene, and it lacks an immediacy.”
- “Of course [I believe in aliens]. Are you so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe?”
- “When I first started out all the attention could be a bit unnerving, especially when people stared. Now I find the best thing is to just relax. Being recognized is just something you have to get used to.”
- “I've learned to relax more. Everybody feels pressure in what they do, maybe mine is just a little different because there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish what I want to.”
- “We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick. We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt - and Nic [Nicole Kidman] did, too - that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this. [On the film Eyes Wide Shut]”
- “On film Vanilla Sky: You're going to get the full experience of what love is.”
- “When I work, I work very hard. So I look to work with people who have that level of dedication. And I depend on that from everyone. From the director to my crews that I work with.”
- “I remember someone saying to Isabella [his daughter] Do you know who your father is? And she just looked at me. She says, He's just my dad?”
- “I disagree with people who think you learn more from getting beat up than you do from winning”
- “People don't know the great things they [Scientologists] do, within education, and how they really try to help the community. It's just a very positive, wonderful thing.”
- “I've been...chased by paparazzi, and they run lights, and they chase you and harass you the whole time. It happens all over the world, and it has certainly gotten worse. You don't know what it's like being chased by them. It is harassment under the guise of, you know, 'We are the press, we are entitled.' When people are having a private moment, they should be allowed to have a private moment”
- “When you have to cope with a lot of problems, you're either going to sink or you're going to swim.”
- “Talk is over-rated as a means of settling disputes.”
- “Today, people can say anything they want. Suddenly it gets in the rumor mill and then it evolves and then somehow it becomes fact and you say, What is this? You know, why don't you ask me?”
- “The exciting part of acting, I don't know how else to explain it, are those moments when you surprise yourself.”
- “I've gotten very good at scheduling my life, scheduling the scene and preparing myself for knowing, saving the energy, consuming the energy, knowing when to go for it and having the available reserves to be able to do that. You have to think about that, because it's endurance.”
- “Something magnificent has happened to me and something extraordinary, and I'm so happy I just can't restrain myself”
- "I've never played a character like this before. Vincent interested me because he is such an anti-social personality, bringing destruction and chaos with him wherever he goes. He's a force of nature." (on his role as the hitman in Collateral (2004).
- The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.
- [to Jay Leno regarding his topless Vanity Fair cover shoot] I don't drink but I had a beer that night and they only did one setup like that. I'm a cheap date. What can I say?
- [about Eyes Wide Shut (1999)] We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick. We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt - and Nic [Nicole Kidman] did, too - that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this.
- I have cooked turkeys in my day but when Mom's around I let her do it.
- I was 18 when I saw Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no samurai (1954). After about 30 seconds, I realized that this was not just a cultural thing, it was universal. Years later, I read Bushido. It talked about many things that I strive for in my own life: loyalty, compassion, responsibility, the idea of looking back on your life and taking responsibility for everything you've ever done. I'm fascinated by the samurai and the samurai code - it's one of the main reasons I wanted to make The Last Samurai (2003).
- Awards are wonderful. I've been nominated many times and I've won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn't, it's still been a blast.
- I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn't matter if you're an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you. What Scientology gives me is the tools to deal with that, to better enjoy my life and to be able to contribute more.
- [on his role as the hit man in Collateral (2004)] I've never played a character like this before. Vincent interested me because he is such an anti-social personality, bringing destruction and chaos with him wherever he goes. He's a force of nature.
- I remember getting through high school and thinking, "Boy, I'm glad I got that behind me!" Then, when I was 19, I got Risky Business (1983), and I realized, "Ah, so this is life - it's a little bigger than I thought!"
- As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, "This is what I love doing, and I hope I'm going to be able to do it forever."
- I've had a very interesting life. There are ways of handling the complexities. I'm willing to take on responsibilities as a father, as a producer, as an actor - and I enjoy that. I've always been changing and evolving and growing. There's no pinnacle of power where you can sit back and rest.
- Because I grew up in so many different places, I was used to rumors [about me]. You know, I didn't have the right shoes, I didn't have the right clothes. I even had the wrong accent
- Nic [Nicole Kidman] and I don't talk publicly about custody but, definitely, both of us share the kids back and forth. They're amazing kids.
- I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We've always been very close, my sisters and me.
- The important thing with a child is that you love them, you protect them and you help them to grow and find out who they are. And as a parent, it's my responsibility to help them to become independent and get all the knowledge and a broad view of the world and life. I know that Nic [Nicole Kidman] absolutely agrees with that. And that's what's important: being there.
- I'd like to be with a woman who goes [he switches into a woman's voice], "I've reviewed your schedule, and I'm going to set up this motorcycle trip for you, because you've been working really hard. And I'm going to go with you. We're going to go riding together. And I've already been working on it for a couple days so it can be special."
- I don't really keep counsel with others. I'm the kind of person who will think about something, and if I know it's right I'm not going to ask anybody. I don't go, "Boy, what do you think about this?" I've made every decision for myself - in my career, in my life.
- SAT (exam) scores have gone right down the toilet. The parents are blaming the teachers, the teachers are blaming the parents and the psychs are putting everyone on drugs.
- [on the relationship with Katie Holmes, about other people thinking it's a publicity stunt] It's amusing at first. It's funny. But then you sit back and realize how sad it is that there are people who can't even imagine feeling like this. But my friends are happy for me. The people who know me are happy. My mom is happy. My family is happy.
- I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry. Here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.
- I'm passionate about learning. I'm passionate about life.
- [on the invasion of Iraq] Personally, I don't have all the information President [George W. Bush] has. But I believe [Saddam Hussein] has committed many crimes against humanity and his own people.
- Every single time I start to do a picture, without fail, I feel as if I don't know what I'm doing.
- (On his father) He was a bully and a coward. He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.' There's that anxiety.
- [On Born on the Fourth of July (1989)] When I made that film people said, 'This is going to ruin your career. Why are you doing this after you did Top Gun. Why not just do Top Gun 2?'. I wanted to challenge myself.
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