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There Are Kids Who Get On Bmx Bike When They Are Eight Years Old And They Go,'whoa, This Is Incredible,' And Grow Up To Do Extreme Sports. It Is The Same For Me With Acting.

-Joaquin Phoenix

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There Are Kids Who

Joaquin Phoenix

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There Are Kids Who Get On Bmx Bike When They Are Eight Years Old And They Go,'whoa, This Is Incredible,' And Grow Up To Do Extreme Sports. It Is The Same For Me With Acting.

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I'm Very Thankful For The People That I've Had The Opportunity To Work With. I Have A Good Life. It's Been Amazing. I'm Not Complaining. It's Not Like Acting Has Ruined Me So I Have To Leave. It's Not That. I'm Just Done With It.

My Dissatisfaction With Acting Has Nothing To Do With Being Uncomfortable Or Vulnerable Or Feeling Like People Are Going To Criticize Me. That's Not The Problem.

For As Long As I've Been Making Movies, I Really Don't Know A Lot Of The Technical Side. I Mean, I've Actively And Consciously Tried To Avoid Learning That Stuff. I Just Want To Be Open And Receptive To What's Happening In The Moment, And I Don't Want To Force Anything.

I Was 3-years-old - To This Day It Is A Vivid Memory. My Family And I Were On A Boat, Catching Fish. As One Fish Was Caught, He Was Writhing, Then He Was Thrown Against The Side Of The Boat. You Couldn't Disguise What It Was. This Was What We Did To Animals To Eat Them. The Animal Went From A Living, Vibrant Creature Fighting For Life To A Violent Death. I Recognized It, As Did My Brothers And Sisters.

I've Made Up So Many Stores About My Name, I Can't Remember.

I Guess I Had What You Could Call An Unconventional Upbringing.

I Becan Acting When River Was Doing This Tv Series And They Needed Two Kids For The Show, So They Got Me And My Little Sister, Summer, To Do It. After That I Did Some Really Weird Guest Spots With Orangutans And Stuff.

With Public Figures Involved In A Relationship It Seems That There Is A Machine Behind Their Love So Oftentimes.

I'm Like The Kid That Crams For Tests And Never Remembers Anything.

I Always Have The Fear That, If I Don't Commit 100 Percent To My Work, Then It's Gonna Suffer.

I Don't Walk Around Like I'm A Movie Star Because I Don't Think Of Myself As A Movie Star. People Usually Don't Even Notice Me.

I Once Told A Journalist That Girls Call Me 'kitten,' But I Couldn't Have Been More Sarcastic, And No Matter How Many Times I've Said That It Was A Joke, It Still Doesn't Go Away.

I Guess My Experience With Some Stuff Is Kind Of Abstract.

I Don't Know Why I Always Get To Play These Guys Who Have Few Redeeming Features. But Don't Knock It. Villains Are Much More Fun.

I Don't Bring My Life Into A Character At All.

The Footage That You're About To Watch Of China's Dog-leather Trade Is One Of The Worst Things I've Ever Seen.

Getting Into The Character Is Difficult And Letting Go Of Your Life And The Things That Kind Of Define You, Whatever It Is In Life That's Your Daily Routine Because You Sort Of Find Yourself In This Other Life And That's Difficult And The Other End Is Difficult.

Finding Yourself

I Didn't Know Much About Him, And I Wasn't A Big Country Music Fan. I Listened To The Beatles And David Bowie, So I Didn't Know A Lot About Him.

I Still Think That Movies Are Amazing; I Respect Actors And Directors.

The Less Someone Knows About Me, The Better, Because My Intention Is To Play A Variety Of Characters.

I've Worked With A Lot Of People On Music And Often Times Those Things Don't Work Out.

I Don't Spend Most Of My Life In Front Of The Media.

How Can You Work In Film And Still See The Overt Racism That Exists In Film And Not Just Be Furious All The Time?

I Don't Have The Slightest Desire To Speak Over My Dead Brother. It Gets On My Nerves To Always Be Compared With Him. My Brother Was A Magnificent Person And An Outstanding Actor.

I Love Scripts About Relationships, And I Love To See Puppy Love Evolving Into This Mature Love And Communication.

I Loved Hip-hop. The First Stuff I Heard Was Public Enemy, And I Couldn't Believe It. It Was Amazing, And I've Always Loved Hip-hop.

My Personal Life Absolutely Goes Down The Drain When I Start Working; That's Something That I'm Incapable Of Doing.

I've Always Loved Hip-hop, Since I Was A Kid, That's The Music That I Loved. I Think Everyone Of Our Generation Kind Of Fantasized About Hip-hop In Some Ways.

I Like Being An Employee. I Like Making Somebody Happy - And If They're Not, Then I'm Crushed.

We Are All Animals Of This Planet. We Are All Creatures. And Nonhuman Animals Experience Pain Sensations Just Like We Do. They Too Are Strong, Intelligent, Industrious, Mobile, And Evolutional. They Too Are Capable Of Growth And Adaptation. Like Us, Firsthand Foremost, They Are Earthlings. And Like Us, They Are Surviving. Like Us They Also Seek Their Own Comfort Rather Than Discomfort. And Like Us They Express Degrees Of Emotion. In Short Like Us, They Are Alive.

I Wish I Had Fair Justification For Not Being As Informed As I Should Be, But I Don't.

Is It That Your Dream Is Unattainable Or Is It That You Have The Wrong Dream?

Together, We Can Make A U.s. Department Of Peace Into A Reality, And Leave A Gift Of Peace For Generations To Come.

Together We Can

Do I Have A Large Frog In My Hair? I Have The Sensation That Something Is Eating My Brain.

I Still Have A Hard Time Saying Who Johnny [ Cash ] Is In One Sentence. He Seemed So Contradictory In His Actions, And I Think That's Probably What Is Most Fascinating About Him And What Made Him Such An Interesting Character To Study.

There Is No Need For Fur - Since There Are Compassionate Alternatives.

I Think The Day That I Become Comfortable Doing Interviews And Going On Talk Shows Is The Day That I Don't Know What It Is To Be A Human Being Anymore.

I Know If I'm Lost In The Moment Or Not.

I Wouldn't Feel Satisfied Being On Set Every Day Doing A Romantic Comedy - I'd Be Bored To Death.

It's An Amazing Feeling To Go Into A Studio And Really Be Alone.

Whether You Think A Film Will Affect Society Or It's Plain Entertainment, It's All Excellent, It's All Noble.

That To Me Was Really, Certainly, The Gateway Into Discovering John, ... I Feel I Found The Speaking Voice Through The Singing Voice.

I Love Having A Master. I Have No Problem Serving My Director. That's My Job. I Want To Make Them Happy.

My Music Is Going To Be True. I'm Not Out To Sell Records. I'm Experiencing Something, And It's What I Feel.

Experiencing Something

Animal Rights Is A Part Of My Everyday Life. When You Live By Example, You Create A Certain Level Of Awareness. Friends Of Mine - People I Have Never Discussed Animal Rights Or Vegetarianism With - Are Adopting Vegetarian Habits Because They See It.

I Like Working All The Time. I Hate Taking Breaks. I Don't Like The Weekends.

I Have This Horrible Sense Of Humor Where I Think Discomfort Is Funny - Partly Because I Experience Discomfort A Lot, And It's A Way Of Laughing At It And Getting A Release.

I've Never Made $20 Million. I'm Scared. I Don't Know If You Gave Me The Ring If I Could Carry It And Bring It To Ozamorph, Or Whatever You Call It.

My Significant Other Right Now Is Myself, Which Is What Happens When You Suffer From Multiple Personality Disorder And Self-obsession.

In Every Film, Whether It's A Fictional Character Or Not, You Create An Idea Of The Character And For Me I Always Do A Bad Impersonation To Start With.

The Offers Were, Like, A Lot Of Money - Maybe Not For Other Actors, But Definitely For Me. But I Don't Want That Power. I Don't Want $20-million Power.

I've Been Prepping For My Role As Medusa.

There Are Kids Who Get On Bmx Bike When They Are Eight Years Old And They Go,'whoa, This Is Incredible,' And Grow Up To Do Extreme Sports. It Is The Same For Me With Acting.

Well, I Think That You Know, I Threatened Myself With Quitting After Every Movie. But I Think Everybody Does That, Right?

As A Nation, This Is The Moment To Start Seriously Investing Our Time, Energy And Resources Into Proven Methods Of Reducing Violence, Both Within Our Nation As Well As Internationally. The Cost Of Violence To Our Culture And Our Children Is Simply Not Sustainable.

I Love Doing The Music. I Love Programming Beats And Kind Of Working On The Music As Much, If Not More, Than The Actual Rapping.

I Enjoy Humour More Than Anything, I Don't Really Sit Around Banging My Head And Crying All The Time.

I've Been In Clubs. I Don't Like Being In An Enclosed Place With Really Loud Music, And A Lot Of Drunk People. It's Not My Idea Of A Good Time. It's Just Such A Miserable Life.

I Don't Know A Single Person In Life That Doesn't Have Conflict.

It's Hard For Me To Put My Feelings Into Words.

I'm Going To Sound A Little Weird Here, But I Like To Spend A Lot Of Time On My Own In The Woods. I Don't Exactly Sneak Off In The Middle Of The Night, But I Like To Be In A Place Where No One Can Reach Me By Phone Or E-mail.

I Just I Don't Feel Challenged By Acting Anymore. I Don't Enjoy The Process Anymore.

Acting Is Real Important To Me. I Love It, And It's Something I Care About.

In Most Films - Especially In Regards To The Protagonist - Really From The Get-go They Set Up Some Scenario That Endears That Character To The Audience. Or Imbues Him With Some Nobility Or Heroism Or Something.

I'm Proud Of My Brother. I Would Never Not Want To Be Associated With Him.

I'm Vomiting Days Before I Start Shooting A New Movie.

For Me, I'd Rather Have An Intense Experience Than Not.

The Expectation Is This Low, Gravelly Voice For John, But I Went Through His Early Recordings And There Were Songs In There Where The Voice Was So Different, I Wasn't Even Sure If It Was Him Singing, ... So It Was Interesting To Me That We Would See Him Develop The Man In Black Sound. I Thought It Was Really Important That His Voice Change As His Persona Slowly Solidified. The Music Was Really The Doorway Into The Character.

When I Look Back I Can't Believe How My Parents Managed, But The Cliche Is True. We Didn't Have Money, But We Were Rich In So Many Other Ways.

I Had A Really Wonderful Upbringing. We Were A Tight Family. It Was Wonderful To Grow Up With So Many Siblings. We Were All Just A Year Or Two Apart, And We Were Always So Supportive Of Each Other. I Learned Everything From My Older Brother And Sister And Taught It To My Younger Sisters.

I Enjoy Writing Rhymes And Sitting Alone In A Room Listening To Beats. It's Pretty Amazing.

It Takes Nothing Away From A Human To Be Kind To An Animal.

When I Go Out With The Ladies, I Don't Force Them To Pronounce My Name. I Tell Them I Like To Go By The Nickname Of Kitten.

Might I Be Ridiculous? Might My Career In Music Be Laughable? Yeah, That's Possible, But That's Certainly Not My Intention.

The Reason I Keep Making Movies Is I Hate The Last Thing I Did. I'm Trying To Rectify My Wrongs.

You See So Many Earnest Characters In Movies All The Time, Everyone Has A Purpose.

They Tell You To Memorize Your Lines, Follow Your Light, And Hit Your Marks. Those Are The Three Things That You Shouldn't Do. You Should Not Learn Your Lines, You Should Not Hit Your Mark, And You Should Never Follow Your Light. Find Your Light - That's My Opinion. Everyone Else Will Tell Me I'm Wrong, But That's My Opinion.

I Don't Believe In God. I Don't Believe In An Afterlife. I Don't Believe In Soul. I Don't Believe In Anything. I Think It's Totally Right For People To Have Their Own Beliefs If It Makes Them Happy, But To Me It's A Pretty Preposterous Idea.

I'd See Child Actors And I'd Get So Jealous, Because They're Just Completely Wide Open.

There Are Certain Aspects Of Acting That I Don't Like. I'm Not A Person Who Loves Being On Set. I Mean, I Know People That Have Their Espresso Machines In Their Trailers And They Like Being In There And They Put Pictures On Walls. But I Don't Like It. I Don't Like Sitting Around.

I Don't Think One Should Be Comfortable Standing On A Stage With People Applauding And Laughing At Every Stupid Thing You Say.

I Don't Know A Single Person In Life That Doesn't Have Conflict. I Don't Really Enjoy Acting Enough To Not Want To Experience Something That Feels Like It Really Affects Things. It's Like, If You Were A Surfer, Would You Want To Surf Where There Was Like Two-foot Waves, Or Would You Want To Surf On Like Ten-foot Waves. To Me, The More Kind Of Dramatic Stories Are More Exciting For Me, To Play With.

Every Single Movie That I've Ever Done Has Affected My Life; I Always Feel More Changed By A Character Than I Affect Them Or Change Them, Always. I Mean, That's Just Kind Of The Way It Is.

Every Movie Soaks Into You For A Certain Amount Of Time.

For Me, I Guess I'm The Acting Equivalent Of Somebody That Jumps Off Buildings And Parachutes.

I Do Like To Collaborate, And I Like Hearing Other People, And I Like How Somebody's Performance Will Affect My Own.

I Would Try And Sing Along With Bands That I Like But It Sounded So Atrocious That I Couldn't.

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