Quotes

[on his decision to move to New York] "Six years ago, when I moved, I said the only things I wanted to do was originate the lead in a show, and if it was a musical, then do the recording, and get nominated for a Tony. So now that I've done all that, I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I should dream higher."

[on his 2003 resolution] "To be in a movie or a play which doesn't require me to take off my clothes. Unless, of course, I don't get another job... In which case I'll be half-naked and whole-heartedly depressed for the rest of my career."

I would never abandon Broadway. I do want to expand my horizons and do more film work, but I'm interested in good roles, wherever they may be. I will always come back, even if I went to LA for a job. I refuse to acknowledge the gap between theater and film. I want to do both, on both coasts. So I will, unless I never get a job again, in which case I'll go back to my first career choice: chimney sweep.

[on his character Col. William Travis in The Alamo (2004)] "He's painted as this big, swashbuckling kind of hero, but Travis didn't consider himself a hero. For Travis, he always thought a leader was someone who puts on fancy clothes. He finally figures out who he is in his last days."

The two times I performed at the White House, for the Kennedy Center Honors, I was made fun of. The first time, in 2001, I wore a nice Gucci suit and tie, which cost more than my rent. And when I met President Bush, he said, 'Thanks for dressing up.' Everybody else was in a traditional tux. It was really funny. I totally got mocked by the President. Then the next year, I had on a black suit with a tuxedo shirt and a great light-blue straight tie. It was just a little different. But Colin Powell said, 'Hey, next time wear a bow tie.'

[on Hard Candy (2005)] I think it's a matter of taste. I don't like films that are all about gore and blood and stuff. But, this is a horror about humanity. That's really what scares me and what drew me to the project. It's scary because it's true. This sort of thing is happening every day.