Toy Soldiers was my introduction to film. I certainly didn't think I was doing art by any stretch of the imagination.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I began to exercise a lot of cinematic muscle with the precepts I had learned in the New York art world. Film was intriguing. I began to think of art as elitist; film was not.
Then when I went to Iraq and saw the strength and character the men and women in our military service exhibit every day and their belief in what they're doing, I knew I wanted to get that on film and share it with everyone. They are my inspiration.
My interest in filmmaking was always very much the visuals and images.
Before I became an actor, I was a visual artist, and I've always hankered for the storytelling behind the camera.
I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.
I feel like I became an artist by default. I went to art college, but my interest was always more towards film than painting or sculpture.
As an artist, there's so many categories that you're put into, that there are so many things that I'm about that I've never explored as an artist on film. I don't see myself in so many characters in film.
No film has captivated my imagination more than 'King Kong.' I'm making movies today because I saw this film when I was 9 years old.
The only thing approaching art in a movie is the script.
I was made for action movies.