I talked with Quentin about where the character came from, and he told me Kansas City. I don`t know how somebody talks from Kansas City, so I made him from New York.

They`re not supposed to show prison films in prison. Especially ones that are about escaping.

On big films there is a lot of pressure on the director, because they have so much money. The way I approach it as an actor is pretty much the same.

The first movie I had a featured role in was Parting Glances.

I don`t really consider myself a writer. Trees Lounge was really hard for me to write. Right know it`s more important to keep directing.

The only thing I can compare the feeling of going onstage to is the fear you feel before going into a burning building. Once you go in there, the fear goes away and you`re operating on adrenaline. And when it`s over, if you`ve done well, it`s something you`ve shared with these people you automatically feel close to.

Communication is the key, and it`s one thing I had to learn-to talk to the actors. I was so involved with the visual and technical aspects that I would forget about the actors.

My real training as an actor was when I started doing theatre.

When I get cast, I always flip to the end of the script to see if my character gets beaten up or killed. I really thought that after getting killed on The Sopranos" (1999) I should not accept scripts where I die. I mean, there`s nowhere to go after getting killed by Tony Soprano. But then I got offered this great part in The Island (2005). I didn`t even make it a third of the way through the movie. I have been surviving a lot more lately, though."

What was frustrating about Armageddon was the time I spent not doing anything. It was a big special effects film, and I wasn`t crazy about pretending I was in outer space. It feels ridiculous.

All these directors, and I would include the Coen brothers and Quentin, have a very unique vision of what they want. They listen to ideas and make people feel like everyone is making the film.

My favorite review described me as the cinematic equivalent of junk mail.

I usually get freaked out if I`m in a situation where a lot of people recognise me at once.

With Animal Factory you`d think that because it`s mostly interiors, you could shoot it anywhere. So we shot this in Philadelphia, and we had the cooperation of the prison system.

It doesn`t matter what part I play, I try and commit myself 100 percent.

In the beginning, it wasn`t even a question of deciding I`m going to do independent film and not commercial films -- I wasn`t being offered any commercial films, and there wasn`t an independent scene. I did a lot of so-called" independent films that were really low-budget films trying to be commercial. But you certainly make choices when you have a script written by Jim Jarmusch or the Coen brothers or Alexandre Rockwell; I think any actor would feel lucky to be able to work on projects like that."

When I was in pre-production for Trees Lounge, I was hearing the cinematographer talking with the production designer about colours and this and that, and feeling like I was losing control.

It doesn`t matter to me what the genre is.

I`m terrible at story and structure, but I`m not so bad at writing dialogue.

In the beginning, it wasn`t even a question of deciding I`m going to do independent film and not commercial films - I wasn`t being offered any commercial films, and there wasn`t an independent scene.

The director I had most involvement with was Alex Rockwell. He gave me a lot of responsibility as an actor.

Quentin was so passionate and enthusiastic about what he was doing that it touched us all. We really wanted to do a good job for him.

I don`t tend to think of these characters as losers. I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like they don`t fit into society, because I still sort of feel that way.

I think all comics borrow from each other. Only a few have an original voice, and I wasn`t one of them. In the end, I couldn`t figure out who to steal from, so I stopped doing it.

Directing television is really hard - it`s so fast. You shoot an hour show in seven days.

Trees Lounge is based on my own life. Both my parents like the movie. My father, of course, thinks it`s a masterpiece.

I didn`t think I`d ever be able to do movies. That was for serious actors.

It wasn`t until my senior year in high school that I started acting.

I did stand-up. I loved George Carlin and Steve Martin.

I never made a daring rescue, which is the story people want to hear. I did go to my share of fires.

My greatest hope was to get discovered as a comedian and get on a sitcom.

I didn`t really like the aloneness of doing stand-up.

I was going to buy a van and move to LA so I could secretly pursue acting without any of my friends knowing.

Bob Altman had this relaxed but serious attitude. Everybody loved him. I wanted him to adopt me.

I admire any director who makes his living solely from directing. I`m fortunate enough to earn a decent wage by occasionally playing psychopaths in other people`s movies, allowing me the luxury of not having to depend on the movies I direct to put food on the table. I especially admire independent directors like Tom DiCillo and Alexandre Rockwell, who never stop trying to create their own way.

The trend now is to shoot in Canada because it`s cheaper, and they don`t care what the location is.

Anything you write, even if you have to start over, is valuable. I let the story write itself through the characters.

I was very surprised that for a while I could only get cast as straight. It was that way for a few years.

It doesn`t matter so much where the material comes from, as long as it`s good.

(On working on The Sopranos) I feel really privileged to have been a part of it and to have worked that closely with it, as a director and as an actor. And as an audience member, I`m still in awe of the show.

I don`t tend to think of these characters as losers [I play]. I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like they don`t fit into society, because I still sort of feel that way.

As much as you tell yourself, `We made the film and here it is and that is enough,` you would like to come away with something.

It`s weird; I was not a really tough guy in high school, but I end up playing all of these psychopaths and criminals. I don`t really care who they are, as long as they are complicated and going through something that I can understand and put across.

My favorite review described me as the cinematic equivalent of junk mail. I don`t know what that means, but it sounds like a dig.