Quotes

[on modeling his title character in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) persona] For the character I thought a lot about the comedy of resilience. Buster Keaton was someone that came to mind. He had quite an impassive face with a melancholic stare on it. All of these crazy things could be happening - he could be falling in love or a building could be falling on him, but it was all internalized.

[on working with the Coen brothers] It was the best experience of my life. They're so generous - not only with their time, but with stories about these people that they've worked with and artists they admire. It was an incredible, joyous process - even though it's quite heavy material. They're very pragmatic. They don't put any impositions on you or come in with any kind of idea in particular that they want you to do. There's room to play.

[on being cast as Llewyn Davis] It was the role of a lifetime, and I just really talked myself into the world of the movie, of 1960s Greenwich Village, New York - the pre-Dylan, great folk scene that was happening and into this character who's both wanting desperately to succeed, and also desperately to fail. And then, on top of of everything the character is, I was learning that repertoire of music, which I wasn't familiar with.. I'd say I definitely found the character through the music. I think that's the window into his soul, his only connection with the people outside.

[re immediate impact of being tapped for "Davis" film] On a practical level, as soon as Joel and Ethan [Coen] cast me, the doors opened up for more parts...Basically the next day [my agent said] we got these offers now. Now you're bona fide, kid.

[re 1960s Greenwich Village music scene]People hated each other. In Washington Square Park, it was amazing because there was all this music, but the drummers hated the bluegrass guys, who hated the folk guys who hated the jazz guys [fighting] over their square inches.

[singing in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)] Sometimes like 30 takes of one song. It was an intense process but I love the music, and I'd been playing them 100 times a day, so playing them 30 was fine. I get obsessed with that kind of stuff. Sometimes I would smoke a bunch of cigarettes and drink a bunch of beer before the take.

[on the impact of moving from small films to big-budget features] My job is still the same. Between 'action' and 'cut', that's mine. No matter how big the production is, that's still my space. That's a sacred place.

[on his research for The Promise (2016)] My approach was to immerse myself in the history of the time. For me, the biggest help was videos and recordings of survivors, who would recount what they witnessed. Little boys, as children, seeing their grandmother bayonetted by the gendarmes, or their mothers and sisters crucified - horrible atrocities! It was heartbreaking. I did feel some responsibility to try and tell their story. [2017]

[on The Promise (2016)] To my shame, I didn't know about the Armenian Genocide before I got the script. To read that 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hand of their own government, it was shocking. To this day, there's an active denial of it. That was the most interesting part of it, but the cast they put together, and the fact that all of the proceeds will go to charity. That's a great thing to be a part of. [2017]

[on The Promise (2016)] It was an educational process for me because to my great shame I didn't know about the Armenian Genocide before and I think, unfortunately, a lot of us in this country and in the West and all around the world have been purposefully kept in the dark about it. To be a part of something that does shed light on this horror that occurred is very special. And on top of that, to be part of something that's so philanthropic, where the producers really put their money where their mouths are. One-hundred percent of the proceeds go to charity - that's unheard of. [2017]

My grandmother Graciela Argentina Nicolle de Estrada would perform 'Luna De Xelajú' in the concert halls of Guatemala. Growing up it was always hummed or sung as a lullaby by my mother Eugenia. I'm grateful to Gaby for asking me to share this song as a way of honoring my family and all of Guate. [talking about recording song 'Luna De Xelajú' with fellow Guatemalan Gaby Moreno]