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Honestly, I think a good film is spiritual, regardless of whether its subject is faith.

Supernatural movies generally have a much more brooding pace. If you look at films like 'The Sixth Sense' or 'The Others,' it's more building up the characters and building up the situation as opposed to just opening with a big action set piece.

The cinema has done more for my spiritual life than the church. My ideas of fame, success and beauty all originate from the big screen. Whereas Christian religion is retreating everywhere and losing more and more influence; film has filled the vacuum and supports us with myths and action-controlling images.

The escape to an unchallenging fairy tale can be very nice and I'm all for that, but film can also challenge you to confront the realities of our world.

Every decade or so, Hollywood has an epiphany. It turns out faith-based audiences enjoy going to the movies, too.

We've had so many faith-based movies that I think are sub-par; I almost want a new phrase for them.

Hollywood has done some of these films, and some of them are ginormous biblical movies, but you can tell the people making these are not invested in the truth of what those stories are biblically. It shows in the work.

My films often have a spiritual dimension which comes from my Muslim background, and I'm happy to tackle that in cinema.

My beliefs encompass all religions. But I never show my religious inclination in my films. My characters have dark sides; they aren't the god-fearing characters. It wasn't a conscious decision. I'm a very lazy and emotional person who connects with the common man.

I like a movie that brings out many discussions. From my experience, every time I have done movies, they create this kind of situation. Like 'Irreversible,' 'The Passion of the Christ,' 'Malena'; it's so interesting. I like to explore the dark side of humanity. That's why I'm an actor.