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" 'L.A. Confidential' was written with me in mind, but Russell Crowe got the part. Go figure. "

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" Your children don't have to fear you to respect you. "

" What people don't always understand is that I established a certain lifestyle for my family back in the days of 'Species' and 'Mulholland Falls' and 'The Getaway.' I wasn't about to move my six kids into a trailer park. So when people offered me work, it wasn't always the best, but I had to buy groceries, and I had to put gas in the car. "

" Encourage your kids' artistic side. Toughen up everything else. "

" I don't get the IMDb... I've called them several times myself and said, 'Guys, look... ' I've given them specific titles that should not be on there. But they won't take them down. "

" I worked a lot of non-acting jobs for a really long time. They ranged from auto mechanic to landscaper to manual labor to working in a factory that made airplane parts. I even tried to go to school as a paramedic and ended up being an orderly in a hospital. "

" When you play a character that's someone real, when you're playing a true story, it's really great 'cause you're not pretending to make up some silly thing. "

" I've done two motorcycle pictures: I did 'Beyond The Law,' and I did one produced by Tarantino called 'Hell Ride,' with Dennis Hopper and David Carradine and Vinnie Jones. And I just think 'Hell Ride' was a lot more of what a biker movie should be. But the good part of 'Beyond The Law' was that I had a good time with Charlie Sheen. "

" I don't walk around the street thinking, 'I'm Michael Madsen,' but then again, I am that guy, and sometimes people do take notice of me. Sometimes it's really not comfortable. "

" I didn't have much ambition, but I always had an idea in the back of my mind that I wanted to act. I would watch actors like Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart, and Kirk Douglas, and I understood them. "

" My career has been very strange. My career is like a heart monitor. I get involved in a good project now and then to keep things going. And then I make things that I work on that I hope are going to be good so I can make a living and keep a roof over the heads of those little monsters I have in my house. "

" I used to be one of those guys with a lot of angst, you know? I just don't anymore. I'm not angst-ridden anymore. I've faced reality of what I am and what I have to do in life. "

" I can't surf, so I swim. It's the best workout I've ever known because it works your entire body. "

" I swim a lot, almost every day. I just go out to the beach by my place in Malibu and jump into the ocean. "

" I do get cast in the same role a lot, but the truth is, I just want longevity. The thing is, I'd rather be stuck in a stereotype than be nowhere. The whole typecasting thing started because of 'Reservoir Dogs.' And I did a bunch of other films like 'Wyatt Earp' and 'Free Willy,' but no one seems to remember those. "

" I've had a lot more good luck than bad, and I've made a lot more good pictures than bad ones, and I'm pretty happy with what I have. I don't walk around regretting too many things. "

" I don't know if there's anything sadder than an actor who hasn't made a good picture, and at least I got a few good ones that will stand the test of time. I feel very fortunate about that. "

" People have been afraid of me because of the parts I played. Nobody remembers that I was the dad in 'Free Willy.' "

" I'm kind of hard to double, but I did have one guy for a while as my double. I kind of like to do my own stunts, though, because it's just the overall experience. Sometimes you have to step aside when the stuff gets really dangerous, but I feel like sometimes you have to do your own stunts to make the role seem real. "

" Is it really selling out if it feeds your family? "

" My big ambition was to be Richard Petty. "

" I'm not a publicity hound. I don't care about being on the cover of 'GQ' or 'Vanity Fair.' "

" Maybe I was just born in the wrong era, man. I'm a bit of a throwback to the days of black and white movies. Those guys back then, they had a certain kind of directness about them. A lot of the screenplays, the plots were very simplistic - they gave rise to a type of anti-hero that maybe I suit better. "

Black And White

" You know, every movie you make can't be great, no matter who you are. "

" I'm glad I wasn't in 'Free Willy 3.' That's all I can say on that. "

" Well, one thing for sure, I won't be remembered for 'Free Willy.' Or maybe I will. "

" I don't love being an actor, but I'm not qualified to be anything else. I was an auto mechanic and drove a tow truck and tried to go to school to be a paramedic. "

" I probably made a few pictures I shouldn't have done, but I have four sons and I have to pay the rent. If you have a decision to make about whether or not you can buy groceries at the market or whether or not you're going to make a bad movie, you're going to make a bad movie. "

" I'm a leading man trapped in a bad guy's body. "

" I wrote a poem on my leg once, on the skin. "

" Kids are a great excuse for you to stop acting like one. "