Kevin Costner

“You're this rat in the American maze, working your way towards the cheese, which is a job.”

“When I played Robin Hood, I knew the great role was Alan Rickman's and it didn't bother me. I always think that leading actors should be called the best supporting actors.”

“I don't think I ever take huge risks, though I'm not scared of doing so.”

“I'm proud of all the movies I've made. They're not sequels, they're not franchises. And the reason I pick my films carefully is that I don't want to spit on my life. I like to think of myself as more than that.”

“There are a lot of things that come to bear on movies now that I don't think are good for movies. They're trying to appeal to the biggest demographic and, when they do that, you sometimes flatten out.”

“I work for the public, for the people who are paying to go to the cinema, rather than for the critics.”

“Being a celebrity is probably the closest to being a beautiful woman as you can get.”

“When I make a film I'm away from home for two to three months. So I want my kids to look at my films one day and say, I love his movies, I love his choices-because he loved them.”

“I haven't tried to buffer myself. I like rolling the dice.”

“I stand up for what I believe. I don't know if it's always paid off for me, because I've been ridiculed and humiliated.”

“One person doesn't have to shoulder all the responsibility for why a film does or doesn't do well.”

“I had a difficult time hearing my own inner voice about what I wanted to be in this life, because there were all these perfect examples of what a man actually does. The notion is that he goes to college, gets married and provides. That's what a man does.”

“I don't feel the need to direct. I tried to get other people to direct Dances, but they wouldn't do it. They all thought it was too long. One director wanted to cut the Civil War sequence. Another thought the white woman was very cliched.”

“I'm in a position where whatever I do, I can get my head handed to me. I'm in a position to fail because there is a whole group of people out there who want me to fail. It's a weird vibe.”

“I wait and take on projects that I think can work.”

“When I see my children, and when I see the people who value me, I know how lucky I am.”

“I've always known that I'm a little out of vogue.”

“I like American history.”

“We stand our best chance of leaving a legacy to those who want to learn, our children, by standing firm. In matters of style, hey, swing with the stream. But in matters of principle, you need to stand like a rock.”

“I think there are good men and women in all decades. We've grown cynical. And look at what we do to all our heroes: Churchill, FDR, Kennedy, they all had affairs. But heroic things happen every day.”