On his influences: There's a scene in The Godfather II. De Niro's in a theater. And he's looking back. It's just a look. I don't think I've ever imitated another actor, but there's nothing wrong with learning from them."
On other actors with whom he'd like to work someday: All of 'em. Anybody whose last name ends in an o. De Niro. Pacino. I cut my teeth watching them. Going back to the idea of learning things from other actors—Laurence Olivier was an outside-in kind of guy. He'd find a handle, something on the outside. The Method guys were inside-out. I use a little bit of both. For Mo' Better Blues, I'll pick up a trumpet. Not "Oh, what is the emotional innards of a jazz musician?" Hurricane? Start boxing. Sometimes it starts on the outside. Sometimes on the inside."
On staying out of the public eye: “Sidney Poitier told me this years ago: ‘If they see you for free all week, they won’t pay to see you on the weekend, because they feel like they’ve seen you. If you walk by the magazine section in the supermarket and they’ve known you all their life, there’s no mystery. They can’t take the ride.’ My professional work is being a better actor. I don’t know how to be a celebrity.”
On roles he regrets turning down: “Seven and Michael Clayton. With Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens.
On Whitney Houston: “Whitney was my girl, and she had done so well in recovery. And that is the toughest part about addiction. …That was a monster drug that got ahold of her, it was a mean one. You can’t go back to that one. Nobody beats that. I look at people - and I don’t think I’m speaking out of line - Sam Jackson I’ve known for thirty-some-odd years, he was down at the bottom. And he came all the way back. And when he cleaned up, he never looked back. But he can’t have that beer, because it might lead to the tough thing.”
Credit @ GQ
Credit @ GQ
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