Yeah, look, he`s known me since I was getting into car accidents ... Then I was an actor for years. And I wrote an outline, a pretty detailed outline, and gave it to him, and I`m pretty certain he has yet to read that outline.

He was enormously manipulative, very ambitious and not always truthful. I didn`t want a biography that worships the title character. I wanted a movie that portrays the truth.

He achieved everything he ever wanted, and the cost of that ruined him. It was something he never came to terms with. He never did finish another book. The drinking and drug abuse increased, and it was the beginning of his long demise.

It`s an incredible honor, and it`s so unlikely. I took a stab at doing this, and it`s been extremely well received. ... Phil has gotten an enormous amount of attention, all of it well deserved. I think we`ve gotten our fair share, and whatever shakes out in terms of Oscar stuff is fine.

The two biggest moments of my life were walking on-stage (as an actor) in Tony Kushner`s Angels in America on opening night on Broadway. The second was being nominated for a screenplay Oscar along with him. [on Oscar nomination for Capote (2005) on 31 Jan. 06]

But at the end of the day, it was his call. So I would go off and do rewrites while they shot.

He was enormously manipulative, very ambitious and not always truthful,

His persona was what people responded to with shock,

He went to every fund-raising meeting vouching for a first-time feature director and first-time screenwriter. It was Phil who said, `I believe in them; you need to trust me.

Capote had these dueling motivations for being involved with this guy. He genuinely was fascinated with (Perry Smith), but he also saw him as a ticket to writing this great book.

He`s also one of those friends who doesn`t impress easily. And so if you get a good reaction from him, it actually means something. So it was important for me to hear from him something about the script, whether it was good or bad.

I probably, at this point, feel more comfortable doing theater. I feel I`m still figuring out film acting, but I like both of them in very different ways.....I`m not anti-TV at all. I don`t watch a lot, but I wouldn`t mind making a living from it. Interview with Carol Deegan, May 19, 1998.