A Pedro Almodovar: "I'm more interested in women than in men. I grew up in a female universe."

Fanny Ardant: "I have nothing. I have no country home. I have no car. But I am free and it's my choice. It means I can say no. I don't have to accept a movie to pay bills."

B Sean Bean: "I'm tired of being known as the villainous actor, but that doesn't men you shouldn't still be scared of me."

Halle Berry: "Everyone has felt the feeling of being an outsider. I felt the effect of racism and I felt discriminated against because of my gender."

John Boorman: "If Martin Cahill was around today he'd probably be a property developer. It's much more profitable."

C Eric Cantona: "Football, always football. I stopped playing 10 years ago and I'm still being asked the same question. A lot of people change their jobs several times and nobody finds it strange. What's different about me?"

Vincent Cassel: "A star is someone who cannot walk in the street anymore. We don't have stars in France because the French are very snobbish.

They recognise you, they don't want you to see it. They look the other way. And I like that."

D Laurie David: "I feel that Al Gore has become the Paul Revere of our times, travelling around the country to call out this vital warning that we really can't ignore."

Michael Douglas, on having a second family with Catherine Zeta Jones:

"Unfortunately my career is made up of movies that my children cannot see. It's nearing a point where they know mommy acts, but what does daddy do?"

Robert Downey Jr: "I made a bunch of choices based on my own selfish narcissistic selfmedicating ideal and here I am.

It's not like I'm coming back to something I'm desperate to be a part of. Mind you, I'm not saying a chocolate croissant gives me a high."

E Erik Ebouaney: "In Africa people live outdoors, but in Ireland it's more indoor. To meet people you must go into pubs. Africans can feel isolated.

But the good thing is that Irish people are curious, they want to know about you."

F Valerie Farris, co-director of 'Little Miss Sunshine': "We're so far from the American Dream now. Dissent has been shut down. We don't hear opposing views any more, not even during elections."

Fionnuala Flanagan: "A lot of the time we think we're more liberal-minded and broadminded than we actually are. It's like it's fine for other people, but not when . . . whoops! . . . it knocks on your own door."

Jodie Foster: "I don't really care for cartoon glamour. Nobody would want me for that anyway."

G Paul Giamatti: "There's a certain pleasure in playing self-tortured people who are failures. I've a lot of practice at it."

David Gleeson: "I didn't go to film school, I went to films."

Al Gore: "I'm a recovering politician. It's an unfortunate truth . . . an inconvenient truth . . . that we learn most from the most painful experiences."

H Naomie Harris on Woody Harrelson: "Woody has lovely juicy lips."

Danny Huston, on being John Huston's son: "I've always enjoyed my father's shadow. If it helps get your film in the door, I'll use the name. A healthy amount of nepotism goes down well in Hollywood. They like a name that they recognise."

Nicholas Hytner, on the decline of school groups at theatres: "Education is now target-driven and results driven, a purely utilitarian process. A day spent at the theatre is a day wasted as far as assessments are concerned."

J Hugh Jackman, star of 'Matchpoint': "You don't say no to Woody Allen."

Neil Jordan: "I don't think I've ever made a film that was pleasurable or happy in the sense of leading to a happy conclusion."

K Ashton Kutcher, husband of Demi Moore: "Picking up girls in bars? I met my wife in a bar, and that worked."

L Christopher Kennedy Lawford, on being woken up by his uncle JFK after the 1960 Democratic Party convention:

"'Christopher, ' he said, 'I've been nominated to run for President of the United States. Will you help me?' 'Sure, if we could do it tomorrow, because I'm really tired right now'."

Heath Ledger: "Before you portray someone else you have to know how to portray yourself. You're forced into discovering a lot about yourself."

Ken Loach, on the the Irish Troubles: "It's our history, not just yours. It's the elephant in our living room that we don't want to talk about."

M Colum McCann, on being nominated for an Oscar for best short film: "I saw Hollywood as being one of those isolated moments. I hired a sports car and drove up to the Hollywood sign. We went to the Vanity Fair party. And that was it."

Michael Mann, on directing Colin Farrell: "He was fuelled by a fearlessness to go where his character had to go. You want to be around him" Sam Mendes:

"We think we know Vietnam, but we just know the movie version of it. Vietnam is not Vietnam, it's Coppola's Vietnam, it's Kubrick's Vietnam, it's Stone's Vietnam."

Paul Mercier: "Football is a reliving of myths."

John Cameron Mitchell, director of 'Shortbus': "When filmmakers brought in sex, they almost felt they had to punish themselves. We were having none of that. I didn't want to make an erotic film, but I wanted to see how sex could be revealing."

Cillian Murphy: "You don't have to like the characters you play. You have to commit to them. I'm drawn to the dark side of the psyche."

N Gaspar Noe, director of 'Irreversible':

"Everyone is obsessed by sex.

Those who say they're not are either lying or they're denying their own reptilian nature."

P Jack Palance: "Being an actor? What is it? Anybody can be an actor. None of it represents anything I'm proud of."

Sarah Polley: "Subconsciously you're always using things from your life. You find yourself in the middle of a scene acting something out of your life that you never expected."

Q Maggie Q: "My mom is from Vietnam. My parents met when my dad was serving there. So something good came out of that war, I guess."

P Keanu Reeves: "Talk about drugs? It depends what drugs you talk about. . . do you mind if I smoke?"

Jonathan Rhys Meyers: "The wealthier you get the higher your walls get, the barrier wire goes up, the security gates are shut, and you start wondering what people's agenda is" Mickey Rourke:

"I knew I was a good actor and I was very arrogant about that and very selfish and destructive. I felt I deserved whatever I thought I was. Now I feel I don't deserve shit. I just feel grateful to be here. I didn't think I would be invited back to the party."

Keri Russell on Tom Cruise: "He's really like a 13-year-old boy.

He goes for all this action stuff. He really believes it."

S William Shatner: "When I see actors I knew when they were young, they look like they're in old age make-up."

Jim Sheridan on racism in films: "If a white man is strong and silent we accept it, but if it's a black man, he seems sullen to us."

Bryan Singer: "Ever since Steven Spielberg went from Sugarland Express to Jaws and scared the shit out of us and invented the summer movie, the distinction between serious and popcorn movie has weakened and lost its validity Oliver Stone, on his Yale contemporary George W Bush:

"The whole Bush story is unbelievable, a man of no discernible distinguishing marks advancing to the White House . . . from a joke to US President."

T Charlize Theron:"I'd rather chew my arms off than do something where I'm just floating by."

V Gore Verbinski on directing Johnny Depp: "Johnny is like a Miles Davis. Having a Miles Davis in your band, you've got to let him solo. There's always an idea then Johnny gets his hands on it and makes it his."

W Denzel Washington: "I don't think I've been intimidated in a long time. I think acting helps you because you can act like a billionaire, until you say something stupid."

Wim Wenders: "Look at any western. It's these lonely guys and all they want is to find the place where they belong."

Owen Wilson, on growing up with actor brothers Luke and Andrew:

"My father called us the Three Seven Nine Zero Club, meaning three boys, seven high schools, nine colleges, zero degrees."

Z Zhang Ziyi: "There's more to Chinese cinema than martial arts epics."