Sam Rockwell quotes:

I try to steal from the best. Suck it all in. 'Taxi Driver' is really a bible for film actors, a master class. A lot of emotional power, a lot of emotional depth but it's contained and you just see the tip of the iceberg.

I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.

I used to break dance. I can do some good James Brown footwork. But now I think I've danced too much. My girlfriend made fun of me: 'Enough with the dancing.'

Good acting is good acting, however you learn it. Some people who haven't studied are amazing. Some people like Leonardo DiCaprio are naturally gifted - he's learned technique by working with people early on.

I did some martial arts training for 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,' since the character was an assassin.

I had those kind of parents where I watched all of these very sophisticated movies: 'Five Easy Pieces', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'

I copied everything I did in Galaxy Quest from Bill Paxton in Aliens, I owe him some credit.

I'm originally from San Francisco. I might move there some day. But, I like L.A., I have fun in L.A. It's a fun town if you've got money in your pocket. It's a good town.

I've studied a technique called the Sanford Miesner technique, that teaches you how to focus. It's mainly about daydreaming. And the technique's really about imaginary circumstances. Using your imagination to sort of daydream about stuff. It makes you emotional in a scene.

I think a lot of theater actors that were great, like Walken or Glenn Close, later became film actors.

Anjelica Huston and Kelly MacDonald are both really special. Anjelica has such a fresh point of view about acting and doesn't seem jaded at all. She seems more like a student and yet she is veteran actor who really brings it.

I'm not going to just do a dumb zombie movie, although I love zombie movies.

I think any good actor is an anarchist. They have to be.

I think of myself as a journeyman actor. I've got some talent and I work hard, but people like Brando or Pacino - those people are touched by God.

I have memories of films that nobody ever saw, that I was very proud of, and those are still great memories.

I took a break after 'Confessions.' I was real picky. And then I suddenly realized I hadn't worked in a year. And I was sort of, like, not really happy. I think people are happier when they have structure, you know? You realize that as you get older. You have to have rituals and structure.

I had a great time with John Duigan he's pretty amazing.

I have a constant sort of melancholy approach to acting that fuels me. I want to do everything.

I've done so many independents for so many years. Leads that nobody's seen.

My parents were both actors my dad sort of quite early on. My mother acted for a while, and now she's a painter.

Money is power and power gives you choice.

Clark Gregg and I are around the same age. He has been an actor and is a writer. But with a first-time director, there is a way to talk about things they might not know. Because Clark was an actor, though, he knew more about the process than most first-time directors.

You hit 41 and you don't burn calories like you used to.

An editor is like a painter. There is a magic in that.

I sometimes can't do movies just for the money. I really can't. I mean, I've tried. Believe me, I'd love to just take the money and run.

I think people are happier when they have structure, you know? You realize that as you get older. You have to have rituals and structure.

I was certainly naïve about the judicial system in America. There's a lot of people who are in prison who are innocent. The system is very flawed.

It's hard to not get typed in Hollywood. They really want to type you. I'm trying to avoid that, because I want to do a lot of things. I know what I'm capable of. I forgive them because they don't know. They haven't seen me play Hamlet. They're not going to cast me as an English aristocrat. I'm going to have to prove that on my own. That's okay. That's what you have to fight for if you want to be an artist.