Study up on the Eastern religions. They're the only ones that are realistic. There's no answer, see.

There is no answer. That's what Buddhism says. The Void, oblivion, no answer. To be in that state is an enlightened state.

I just wasn't psychologically made to get married or, God forbid, be a father.

I like to do nothing.

I do all the classics, like Dylan, Kristofferson, Jimmy Reed, Mexican mariachi songs, some jazz songs from the '30s. Cole Porter's 'Begin the Beguine,' that's one of my favorites.

I've got a pretty iconoclastic attitude about all institutions myself. And I just think the church was corrupted right after Christ was killed.

I've been blessed. I've worked with a lot of good people.

Casting is a convoluted kind of trip. No one likes to be typed - even if you're a cab driver, or whatever you do.

I met Dylan on 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.' We buddied around for quite a while after that. We jammed together; he liked my Mexican songs.

I have to wait and see what happens. Because nobody's in charge.

I can't stress too much how much Ry Cooder was an influence on me. Having one of the most respected musicians around like my singing really gave me the confidence to do it.

People kept asking me, 'When are you singing again?' so I kept doing it. It was that simple.

People know you as an actor, and labels are so comfortable for people. That syndrome is always hard to get past.

I can understand why it takes some people a long time to really be a singer. You have to find out, 'Why am I singing? What am I doing this for?' I do it because I enjoy it, and philosophically, music is a catalyst. It's a refining agent.

I was in World War Two at the battle of Okinawa.

My father and mother were not that compatible. I don't think they had a good wedding night, and I was the product of that. We weren't close.

If I never did another film after 'Paris, Texas,' I'd be happy.

I would've preferred to blossom earlier in life.

I think every actor wants to play those big parts. In the very first play I ever did, I remember understanding all the characters in it. I always felt I could play anyone.

I'm tired of playing people who are complete washouts and bums. I don't mind waiting for the good ones to come along. It's like age. It's never bothered me. I've even forgot my birthday. Many times I've wondered if I should tell my real age, but now I think it's an honor, to be doing what I'm doing now at my age.

All organized religions are basically the same.

I grew up Southern Baptist. In the Bible Belt.

I am not into any religions. I have been mostly influenced by Eastern religions - Taoism, the essence of Hinduism and Buddhism. But my belief is not having any beliefs.

I am an actor and this is holding the mirror up to nature, as it were.

I've had offers that could've made me much richer and much more famous than I am.

I've passed up opportunities. I've avoided the spotlight. I've never been to Academy Awards, didn't relate to them.

Silence is the most powerful state.

Sam Shepard is a brilliant writer.

I made it a point not to graduate. I thought that was a positive, independent kind of statement.

I don't blame anyone but myself for the kind of parts I got. To blame external circumstances is absolute folly.

'Paris, Texas' gave me a chance to play compassion, and I'm spelling that with a capital C.

I worked with the best directors - Martin Scorsese, John Huston, David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock was great.

I always had a dramatic flair. I'd like to dress up like a cowboy, play make-believe. But I didn't realize acting was something I had to do until I got to college.

The soul is an illusion.

I used to sing when I was six years old. When the family would leave the house, I'd get up on the stool and sing. 'T for Texas, T for Tenessee, T for Thelma, the gal that made a wreck out of me.' I was in love with my babysitter. She was 18. I was six.

I've had chances to record albums, which I haven't done.

Nothing is important.

Every actor is a character actor.

Singing and acting are actually very similar things. Anyone can sing and anyone can be a film actor. All you have to do is learn.

I was singing the blues when I was six. Kind of sad, eh?

I could have made it as a singer, but I went with acting - surrendered to it, in a way.

I've worked with some of the best of them. Not just directors like Sam Peckinpah and David Lynch, but writers like Sam Shepard and singers like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson.

You can do stuff onstage that you can't do offstage. You can be angry as hell and enraged and get away with it onstage, but not off.

A friend is somebody who doesn't lie.

I'd love to meet Gandhi. And Christ. I'm sure he'd be interesting. And a lot different than a lot of people would think.

I think any performing artist can do films, or, as a matter of fact, anybody out there in the street can be a film actor with no experience whatsoever if you've got a good director.

What did we play in the Harry Dean Stanton Band? It was old blues and country - all covers. I never wrote anything.

The first film I ever remember - I think my mother took me to it - was called 'She Married Her Boss' with Melvyn Douglas.

I was trained on the stage, and I can do stage as well as I can do movies, but I prefer films.

I have nothing to do with anything that happens to me.