Since I've had a son, I want to be around to see him grow up.
I want to do things that terrify me, unless they're going to kill me.
My childhood was kind of complicated. I have an older sister, but my father, my mother's husband, died when I was four years old. So I only had my mum and sister, really.
When I finished the trilogy of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies, I had a gear shift and thought, 'I need to take a moment to smell the roses.'
The philosophy of Buddhism is connected to everything. So it probably does have some connection with acting, yes.
Drama class was one of the only areas at school I responded to.
Mark Ruffalo is just an amazing guy and an amazing director.
Wanting to be a rock star, I get it. I'm like, 'Oh, my God, dude! The freedom!'
I'm going to start a new career as a singer, I think. I'm going to go the way of Russell Crowe.
Obviously, I'm not a singer. I don't consider myself a singer.
I am a Buddhist.
Life is going to unfold as it should because life always does.
Think about finding out when you're 13 that your dad is not your dad. It's like, okay, take it on the chin and keep going. No choice, really.
Fear is not a friend of mine. But it's something to have a healthy awareness of.
The world throws you out of your body, especially the cyberworld.
Believing you're something that you're not excites the mind and the imagination. And it's hopeful.
Low budget movies make lots of money.
My cousin once told me, 'You're tall, you're handsome - and you're gonna have to apologize for it the rest of your life.' He imparted that information to me.
I had plenty of vices growing up.
I used to ride motorbikes and drive cars like everything was a racetrack; it was ridiculous. It wasn't because I thought it was cool; it was just because I loved living on the edge. But I've chilled.
Life is about balance, and we all have to make the effort in areas that we can to enable us to make a difference.
Actors don't really get into their stride until they're in their late 30s and 40s.
When I realized that if I was an actor, I could be any character I wanted instead of just one particular, I was like, 'Wow, that's cool.'
When you're young and you're in love and it doesn't work out - it hurts.
I bungee-jump, skydive, surf and snowboard.
I want to do work that has a message and casts a light over an area that's dark. But I'm fun and jovial, too.
I never responded to teaching.
My baby is amazing; even his head smells amazing. His breath, the whole thing, you could eat him! He's a big, beautiful boy. He's great.
When I'm in the U.K. - and I'm here more than people would think - I tend to keep a very low profile.
My first priority is trying to protect my family.
Attraction doesn't stop when a child is born. It's the opposite. Being a mum and dad makes you even sexier.
I went to Antarctica on a science research boat just to sort of clear my head.
For a kid in London, Hollywood seems like such a mythical place.
What's weird is having your mother fly in on an aeroplane with your face on the side of it.
I feel real confidence in working on the stage.
I pinch myself daily at the good fortune of my life, you know, in many ways.
Steve McQueen is my style hero. He's just cool, isn't he?
I generally travel with my laptop, a couple of great books, and my iPod.
London is one of the most exciting cities in the world, with a melting pot of cultures and diversity.
When I arrive at my destination, I like to hit the gym, as I find exercise helps combat jet lag.
I've never been a great one for technology.
Legolas in 'Lord Of The Rings' was sent as a bridge from his people into the world of dwarves and humans and wizards and everything else.
I'm amazed that things have panned out the way they have. I always say I'm so lucky, though my mum always says, 'You make your own luck.'
Until this movie I have played a boxer, a cowboy, a knight, a prince, an elf and a pirate. I am so glad to have done all of that already, and am ready for this phase of my career.
The role of an actor is to make every character believable.
The process of making a movie is what I love. I thrive on that. It's an exciting miracle, a mad adventure. I love being part of it.
Movies like that aren't about the visual effects and explosions. They're human stories about family, about life, about death.
Maybe our generation is more about sex, but it feels like romance is dying out.
I've done movies with a sword before. But I haven't really been given the full responsibility of something like a Ridley Scott film.
I feel really privileged to be an actor, to be paid to do something I love.
I know you can be up one minute and drop the next, so I'm trying to maintain a steady course so I can have some longevity.
I'm always amazed at anyone's interest in what I have to say.
When you start falling for somebody and you can't stop thinking about when you're going to see them again, I love that. Women are beautiful. They deserve to be cherished and respected.
Although it is a fantasy film, it's as real as it can be. You have to imagine that an audience will buy their ticket to a cinema and get on a first-class flight and journey to Middle Earth.
I have played a boxer, a cowboy, a knight, a prince, an elf and a pirate. I am so glad to have done all of that already.
When I was nine, I had this girlfriend and we used to have running races in the park. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her.
A friend told me that teenage girls are always looking for someone to pin their dreams on. That doesn't make it any less weird though.
I'm still at the beginning of my career. It's all a little new, and I'm still learning as I go.
There's a difference between a failure and a fiasco... a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.
Failure is simply the non-presence of success. But a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.
If life isn't about human beings and living in harmony, then I don't know what it's about.
I did send a girl a plane ticket asking her for a visit, I guess that's quite romantic.
Someone tried to save my soul in a gas station.
Whatever happens in life is fine - just trust in that.
How can you be in hell while you are in my heart?
You don't improvise with a Cameron Crowe script.
Yeah, I mean the material, directors, the other cast, and if you think you can do something with the character then you do it and go from there. I am looking forward to doing some smaller movies.
Obviously I always wanted to do a contemporary piece.
My whole career has been fulfilling my childhood fantasies, playing characters that are larger than life, getting to play a knight, an elf, a prince, and a soldier.
Lord of the Rings was my first experience making movies and at the time, I had no ideas how movies were done. I thought that's the way they're done, so in a way, I had nothing to compare it to.
I'm trying to mix the cool, independent stuff with the big stuff, but it's been difficult finding the right roles. It's been an interesting ride as far as my career pendulum is concerned.
I try to take the time to appreciate and I certainly do appreciate and I do feel proud but that is probably one of the things I need to work on, building a bit of time for myself.
I think it's sort of a rite of passage for a British actor to try and get the American accent and have a good crack at doing that.
I had the training at drama school where I studied Shakespeare and Brecht and Chekov and all these period historical playwrights and I think that I responded to the material.
I had studied theater for three years in London when someone suggested me for the role.
I don't do a film unless it has a sword in it. And if it doesn't have a sword in it, I insist that they have one in the same room to keep me comfortable.
I crave working on those small independent movies because I love going to see those myself.
I got to dress up in funny clothes and run around New Zealand with a bow and arrow for 18 months, how bad could that be?
I remember one time that I was filming a scene in whych my character rides through Troy on a chariot. I just looked around at this incredible set thinking 'This is the life'.
Elves have this superhuman strength, yet they're so graceful. Tolkien created them to be angelic spirits, but I also saw Legolas as something out of the Seven Samurai.
Being referred to as a hunk or a heartthrob makes me nervous, but it's flattering. But I'm more interested in being an actor than a heartthrob.
I wondered how they would top the Pirates and skeletons and moonlight, because that's a pretty cool concept.
Elves are cool, man.
I have always found myself playing the hero, but I love villains. Villains have more fun.
I've lived a very nomadic life, which I enjoy.
If you were to ask everyone what 'Hamlet' was about, they might say, "It's about a prince, and he says, 'To be or not to be.'"
Be comfortable. I think if you're comfortable, you exude confidence, and that leads to good style.
I think a film set is a quite controlled environment and you feel like you can trust them and it is going to be a safe place to work, but I really don't think about it.
I missed my home - like the physicality of my home, I missed my friends and my family mostly and just hanging out and being in your home country - culturally it feels right and that is what I miss.
I got to work with one of my heroes, Johnny Depp, and to see how he goes about business, which was really inspiring for me at this stage in my career.
Watch how you communicate with a woman. Because you're always communicating, even when you're not talking - with your body language, your facial expressions, your eyes.
Would I like to direct? Maybe one day.
Now my favourite pastime is to take a bath with my son.
People come into your life and people leave it... you just have to trust that life has a road mapped out for you.
I look forward to working with UNICEF as they continue to make the world a better place for children.
I came back out here from England and I was there for a while and it was beautiful and it is just great to see London going from Spring to Summer and Autumn.
Elves are like trees, grounded and focused from the trunk down but graceful and agile on top.
I am a hopeless romantic and I love to spoil my girlfriends.
As a child, I was always drawn to heroic characters. I decided I wanted to act when I realised that Superman and all those gangsters and Indians were just real people in costume.
Elves live in harmony with the world, and I try to do that.
I have good spacial awareness, and I'm pretty comfortable with a sword.
The world produces enough food for everyone. Why are one billion people going hungry?
It takes obstacles to learn, grow, be better.
