Quotes

"I take away something from every role. I'm still learning and that's what life is about." (People 2/6/95)

I like historical pieces. History was my favorite subject in school, it was the only subject I excelled in. I love the idea of history and the idea that we may have the opportunity to learn from our past mistakes.

On preparing his role as young Karol Wojtyla for Faith: Pope John Paul II (2005): "I was blessed enough to meet Pope John Paul when I was 22 years old in the Vatican; I had that privilege. My mother took me to visit him, and I remember distinctly his incredible charisma and personal charm and his warmth and compassion. You felt it immediately the minute you met him, and that spirit I came away with, having met the man, is something that I've been constantly working on to infuse the character with. My mother is a very devout Catholic. Her criticism will be the one I pay the most attention to."

(On making The Princess Bride (1987)) It was a wonderfully supportive set, and that's a great atmosphere for being creative. An atmosphere of fun, is an atmosphere where the mind is more likely to come up with great stuff.

(On first meeting André René Roussimoff) I met him at the read-through at the Dorchester Hotel in London. I saw his hand first, through the door. And there was a collective gasp from everyone in the room. The only people who had met him were Rob (Reiner) and [screenwriter] Bill Goldman. This huge smile came in, and everyone got up to meet him. He was huge in Japan, you know. They offered to fly him out there any time, because giants are considered lucky. People would run across the street just to touch him.