"You can't judge your characters or otherwise; it's not about you, it's about them."
"Being enlightened is just being aware. It's just being aware of something that you weren't aware before."
"Bodhisattva is enlightened in the Buddhist philosophy, religion, tradition. He's enlightened. It's fine - I don't really fight it - but many people use the term 'zen' and terms like 'nirvana,' 'enlightenment' in an almost superficial way. It's not that complicated."
"The reality is that not only were we massively hit in 2008 when the bubble burst, and then we realized how deep the social gap, the economic gap in the world is between the super rich and the poor; also, we realized how impacted the environment has been. So there's been a physical consequence of that."
"I look for roles that allow me to immerse in different worlds, immerse in worlds that are different from mine. Then, when you finish a film, you're a different person. I look for that. I look to be impacted, to be transformed, changed by my roles. That's why I do this."
"Men are taught that if we are not the ultimate provider, we are a complete failure. We have to be number one in everything we do. There is nothing more delusional or paralysing than what I have just described."
"What drew me to the character is that Roberto Duran is the son of an American soldier - a Marine - stationed in Panama and a humble Panamanian mother, and he was abandoned."
"Panama is a country that's been dealing with issues of identity since its very birth. It was born on Wall Street. It was born out of engineering construction. It was the canal. Because of the canal, the country was born, so the country has been divided into pro-canal and against-canal people for so long."
"I always try to look for the hidden face of the character, the hidden face that we all have."
"The truth is not a bidimensional thing; it's not flat. It's rounded; it's like a sphere, so there's always a hidden face. There's one that is revealed because there's light reflecting on it, but there's always a hidden one, and once you go around to see the hidden one, it moves, and that's life."
"There's never a dull moment on a David O. Russell set. But that's the beauty of it. That's the magic."
"I'm restless. I'm all the time here and there and trying to get myself busy and creative. It's something that's part of my personality since I was a kid."
"You get to a new school, and you're the new guy, or you're the foreigner, or you're the guy with the funny accent. That first day at school was a whole new opportunity to create a new persona."
"We are all seduced by charismatic people, whether it's in your office or in the bus or in the train. There are people who just, like, come through the door, and everybody turns around and looks at them and feels drawn to them."
"Carlos was a character, a character fabricated by Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, fabricated by the secret services of the epoch, fabricated by the governments of the epoch, by the radical groups of the epoch, by the communications media."
"I thought I knew how to work out before I immersed myself into boxing. I now know what an extreme workout really is."
"Boxing combines, in perfect proportion, strength, speed, and endurance. Normally, most sports are either about one of the three: either about speed or endurance or strength. Boxing combines all three of them. It's really intense."
"I'm very physical. I love to work out; I'm very athletic. It's a great therapy, not only for my body, but for my mind."
"I think that every male actor fantasizes with a boxing film."
