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Any sort of role requires a certain amount of research and embodiment of the character and psychological investigation.

I don't mind being identified as any character as long as I'm doing a good job as an actor. I have done all kinds of roles - from an editor, judge, police officer, murderer to a corrupt businessman.

I always want the audience to identify with my character in some way. I mean, sometimes you'll get characters that aren't very identifiable. Sometimes you can't relate to your character at all. I think it's important to keep the audience interested. But the best advice that I've gotten is to live in the moment.

Typically, when you look for role models, you want someone who has your interests and came from the same background. Well, look how restricting that is. What people should do is take role models a la carte. If there's someone whose character you appreciated, you respect that trait.

I think as an actor... I don't like to compare a character to anybody else, just because I respect other people's work, and I want that character to have his own identity.

Sometimes you need to put your own characteristics into the actor, and you take different things from the character that you admire - sometimes you can't see the boundaries anymore.

You don't have to know people personally for them to be role models. Some of my most important role models were historical or literary figures that I only read about - never actually met.

The first thing I do when I read a part is see if I can identify emotionally with a character. If I make that connection, everything else is just working on knowing their life circumstances and manifesting those through practice and research.

You have to be involved and relate to the characters in order to make a film that is true emotionally.