Paul Dano

“I love Brooklyn; it's a part of who you are.”

“I love filming in New York. I love New York movies, too. I just like it when people can take New York and make it their own, because there are so many different New Yorks.”

“I love Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Guns N' Roses and AC/DC.”

“As an actor, I always feel you basically have to be able to delude yourself.”

“One of my favorite things I read was John Steinbeck's journals while he was writing 'East of Eden,' which was so cool.”

“When I'm not acting, I like to go home and be really normal. So I usually grow out my hair until I get the next part.”

“There's that thing that if you want to have any kind of lasting love, I think you have to love the whole person and not just the parts of them that you choose.”

“I'm a private person, but I don't feel afraid to walk out of my door or anything. I get recognised occasionally, but not overwhelmingly so.”

“You look at the part in '12 Years A Slave,' you finish that script - I mean, it's a powerful story. You go, 'Man, I have to play a bad character in this.' And then you go, 'Well, do I want to play a bad character and contribute to a good story?'”

“It's a funny thing. You sort of never figure it out with acting. You're always learning.”

“The only constant I can find is hard work.”

“People have asked me about playing outsiders. I don't consider myself an outsider. Maybe that's why I'm interested in that. I'm not really sure.”

“There are maybe 100 actors I look up to, but my first two favourite actors were Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson.”

“One of my favorite films is 'Dumb and Dumber.' I'd love to do some really silly comedy someday.”

“I started acting pretty young, so I haven't had too many odd jobs. But I used to sell candy out of my locker in middle school.”

“I guess sometimes fear is a good thing. It's a really good motivator.”

“I used to write a lot of songs. I was an English major in college. I was a deluded poet for a year. Totally deluded.”

“I like listening to my playlist on the iPod. I don't want radio with commercials.”

“Listening to hard rock on the subway doesn't work for me, especially modern hard rock. Driving in L.A. helped me to understand the appeal of that music.”

“Homeless people really upset me when I was little. A lot of kids have this reaction, but I would get really worried or sad or concerned or cry.”