Quotes

I like working with people who are kind, above all else. I don't really want to work with someone who will manipulate me. The idea that you must treat actors a certain way in order to get a performance out of them kind of disturbs me, and it's disregarding what we do. Our job is to do our job. I don't believe that directors need to essentially manipulate actors into doing things. You can suffer for your art, and you can make your own self suffer for your art. You don't need anyone else to do it for you. I work best when there's a safety trampoline of kindness. I think a film like Loving (2016) generates compassion and empathy. I really do think we need a lot of that in the world.

Does romantic mean Quand Harry rencontre Sally... (1989)? Or does it mean 37°2 le matin (1986)? The fact that he kills her in the end of "37°2 le matin" is romantic to me. It's a different kind of romance to Nuits blanches à Seattle (1993), but with the same intentions.

If you do anything with commitment and integrity it'll resonate with people; they recognize that whether it's a super-quiet or loud performance.

There is something about people who don't babble, who don't fight for your attention, that is very attractive. They draw people to them because there's no neediness. People have to lean in.

Loving (2016) is tapping into something, and it's not about politics . . . People need a couple like Richard and Mildred now; they need to know that change from a grassroots level is possible, that there is hope.