Phoenix: "I would never, never do anything unless I believed in it."

Phoenix: "We are taught to consume. And that's what we do. But if we realized that there really is no reason to consume, that it's just a mind set, that it's just an addiction, then we wouldn't be out there stepping on people's hands climbing the corporate ladder of success."

Phoenix: "Commercials were too phony for me. I just didn't like selling products I didn't believe in."

Phoenix: "I sometimes lie, especially about personal things, because what does it matter? I am a kind of minute commodity, my name is no longer my own."

Phoenix: "I'd like to play every type of character, but only once. I like to experience things."

Phoenix: "We were constantly moving to different countries and adjusting to new things. It was such a free feeling. I'm glad I didn't have a traditional upbringing."

Phoenix: "I try to lie as much as I can when I'm interviewed. It's reverse psychology. I figure if you lie, they'll print the truth."

Phoenix: "I've been wanting to go into music ever since I can remember. I mean even before I became an actor. I just thought it would be a tough field to break into, so I became an actor instead."

Phoenix: "I don't want to die in a car accident. When I die it'll be a glorious day. It'll probably be a waterfall."

Phoenix: “It’s our responsibility to go as deep as we can and explore all the directions that might even be suggested in the script. Just so we have all the bases covered.”

Phoenix: "Music is a whole oasis in my head. The creation process is so personal and fulfilling."

Phoenix: "It still strikes me as strange that anyone could have any moral objection to someone else's sexuality. It's like telling someone else how to clean their house."

Phoenix: "When I was old enough to realize all meat was killed, I saw it as an irrational way of using our power, to take a weaker thing and mutilate it. It was like the way bullies would take control of younger kids in the schoolyard."

Phoenix: "Acting is like a Halloween mask that you put on."

Phoenix: "Everything is ironic to me. There are moments I find hysterical, but I'm probably the only one who would find that, except for a few people."

Phoenix: "Music is a hobby, because I'm not making any money out of it, but I put just as much conviction into that as I do into my acting."

Phoenix: "When I was in first grade, everyone made fun of my name, of course. I think it's kind of a big name to hold up when you're nine years old. It seemed goofy. I used to tell people I wanted to change the world and they used to think, 'This kid's really weird'."

Phoenix: "I can't on my own change the regime in South Africa or teach the Palestinians to learn to live with the Israelies, but I can start with me."