"I've been a fan (of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker - who wrote and directed the movie) ever since I was 13 and used to see their shows at the Kentucky Fried Theatre in Los Angeles. I must have been one of their best press agents since I used to go around telling everyone I knew to go to see their productions. I also stole a lot of their jokes! I think they're so funny, and they were part of my growing up in Los Angeles. So, of course, when they offered me the lead in TOP SECRET!, I was overjoyed."

"I play a graduate student who's at the top of his field at a college much like Caltech. He's kind of mysterious in that he continuously pulls in good grades and job offers even though he never studies. As he's gone through this school, he's learned that just to be a good student is not the whole story, so he's become kind of a rabble-rouser. He enjoys himself and encourages his classmates to do the same - it's his personal quest."

"I did not like the screenplay and I did not want to do the movie. I think glorifying some aspects of war is dangerous. While we were filming this cartoon version, they had to do it for real. I know that I was acting up a storm for some of the fighter pilots in the movie, because what I was presenting to them was exclusively their version of what the world is. I knew that unless I embraced their side, I'd come up against a brick wall. But there were some guys that couldn't find a way to talk to them, because their egos are even grander than those of actors. They should have called it Top Ego. I would suspend my own political beliefs, my own morality, talking to them about what it meant for them to go to work, trying to find a common ground."

"In action-adventure movies there usually isn't much character development, but here, my character starts as a warrior who's on skid row, a knight in dirty armor, who gets the opportunity to redeem himself by the most unlikely people. I really liked that. And I like comedy, which the movie also has. It was a challenge, and it allowed me to ride horses, which I love, but I must admit it wasn't really the ideal kind of movie for me. I'd rather do something where I can wear jeans …"

"Anyone who justifies indulgence in acting is forfeiting for themselves and the potential audience the chance for poetry. Part of the beauty of doing a story about a famous drunk is that it gives you the chance to say, 'DON'T DO THIS' in real big letters."

"Well, I grew up around Indians, so it's always been a passion of mine. The role intrigued me. The principle of it is that you can't escape your past, and I believe that very strongly about the United States. Any crucial problems that we face now could have been prevented had we had greater consciousness during our history as it was forming, instead of being conscientious once we're faced with them. Pick a subject: Ozone, AIDS … the information is always there. That's what I find inspiring about Thunderheart. The story's effective in that it's not out of guilt. We murdered all these Indians and so we owe them something. But now out of respect for the land, the tremendous strength that they have, the Indians are natural in a very real sense of the word. They have a natural relationship to the spirit, things that are not matter-based. They have the kind of trust that gives them that strength. It's not hokey. It's very real and very necessary. So I chose the part for all those reasons."

"Well, we did experiment quite a bit with different looks but as the younger Elvis I just looked like a drag queen. It just didn't fit my face at all, so [director] Tony [Scott] wisely chose to keep my face hidden and we went for a more spectacular costume."

"You get a chance at a part like that just once in a lifetime, and Kevin Jarre wrote one of the greatest scripts for that film I've ever read. I just tore into that role like a hungry shark."

"I haven't seen it and I'm longing to. Adam (Adam Coleman Howard), where are you?"

"I first learned to tango for the film WINGS OF COURAGE and I wasn't half bad, surprisingly enough. I had to rehearse a lot, of course, because tango dancing is extremely demanding. I have always wanted to tango and I was once offered a role in the film NAKED TANGO, which sparked my interest in the dance. No one's ever heard of it but it's one of the best scripts I've ever read. I'd have to say I'm enamored with the tango - that it is definitely one of my off-screen hobbies. I have definite plans to tango in the future, but unfortunately, there's not much of a tango scene in Santa Fe. Maybe I'll have to start a trend. We'll see."

"You have to remember that BATMAN is already an institution. I had no idea, because I've never really been a comic book fan, of the depth of the global attraction to the character of Batman. He's been going since 1939, so it's quite a large cape to fill. But the story's very different to the other two films, so my ideas are really based on that. I think this one will be a lot lighter, a lot more comic."

"I grew up watching Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro and always dreamed of working with them. When my agent told me I was up for a part that had both actors in the same movie, I was overjoyed. They're great actors because they're incredibly disciplined. They come to the set everyday to work and to do the best job they can possibly do. There are never any attitude problems or star trips with them, because they put the love of their craft before themselves. HEAT was one of those films that worked in every way. Michael Mann did a great job directing. I would give my right arm to work with all of them again."

"I couldn't resist the chance to be in a movie with Brando," "It was a privileged acting experience."

When asked about what he admired about his character John Patterson - "His strength. Just because Africa is trying to kill him with its lions, he never stops loving the country. There are great stories about him. He rode through Nairobi on this great stallion and burned down the town because it was infested with rats. He got tired of everyone complaining. Patterson had a very vivid life, and all the old-timers loved to talk about this guy. He was confronted with the most difficult circumstances imaginable. There were all kinds of wonderful, spectacular hunting stories, but this one really goes beyond just stalking an animal. Patterson got to confront himself, but he never loses his heart or his love for Africa. Hemingway wrote two or three Patterson stories."

"I really liked the idea that he's a literary character. Simon Templar was a hero in more than 50 books, and that started in the '30s - that's amazing! There's something fundamentally entertaining about the character that remains interesting for that long. Then, the idea of this gentleman-thief, that the story of Simon Templar is a celebration of the individual, that he has no friends, no sidekicks, no boss, no home, no dog - he only has a pocketknife! I liked very much the whole idea that he's on his own. Another thing about The Saint I liked is the idea of a character-driven story. It's a very large canvas, that action-adventure genre, and you're supposed to be entertained by the things that are going on inside the mind of the Saint - his behaviour is interesting. Now that's very unusual, because most of the time that isn't what drives this kind of movie. Also, he doesn't carry a gun - I liked that very much. And going from a sinner to a saint, that's a real journey."

[I have] "had some great material to work with in my career but nothing can match THE PRINCE OF EGYPT. There's some irony in the fact that my best role to date is in an animated film."

"Well, it's a love story, and I love the quote from Mrs. Eddy that love never loses sight of loveliness. And it's a story about perception even more than eyesight or love. How do we live? How do we understand life? Seemingly through our senses. But then when you look at a story like this, you come to discover there's more at play in our daily life than just what our senses tell us."

"Frank Whaley wrote and directed it. He's a great actor and comedian. He asked me to play this dysfunctional/alcoholic/janitor father. It's Frank's story about his childhood. The kids in it are fantastic. It's a great story."

"We're going to film in Iceland and Australia. It's set on Mars so Iceland and Australia is the closest you'll get on earth to Mars. It's about whether God exists or not." (Note: Plans were later changed and the Iceland site was changed to Jordan.)

Other Feature Film Roles:

• KILL ME AGAIN (1989)
• THE REAL MCCOY (1993)
• POLLOCK (2000)
• SALTON SEA (2001)