A lot of banging in the head has built up over the decades, and for my own sanity, I needed to write. I wanted to see if I could tell an honest, organic story about characters that interest me.

If you blink, you will miss me, but I am in 'Malcolm X.'

Working with actors really depends on the actor. Most of the directors I've worked with don't really know how to speak to actors, actually; some of the best directors don't.

I'm a sucker for entertainment and escapism as much as the next person. I like silly and lowbrow stuff, but I get nervous when I indulge in that too often. I want to know what's going on in the world. I have a morbid fear of being surprised by bad news. I want to anticipate everything.

There is nothing the government has not done to me. There isn't any pain I haven't known.

For all of higher civilization's recorded history, becoming a man was defined overwhelmingly as taking responsibility for a family.

My mother and my father went to the cinema for the first time when I made my first movie in 1978.

My mother's Maori, and my father's Australian. I take my strength from both my ancestors, and I'm really privileged.