Quotes

It looks like a camera on a stick. - when asked what the "monster" from Lost (2004) looks like.

I so rarely turned down a role, that I can't say I have any regrets in that regard. There were many roles that I would rather not have done, but having a home and family requires that we sometimes do things we would rather not. I have done a few roles that I've never watched, and if I happen to be flicking through channels and one pops up, I quickly move on. It's hard enough to sustain some self confidence without being reminded of things we'd rather not revisit but, in the end, it comes with the territory.

I don't think I could play a character that I couldn't relate to somehow. I'm not unfamiliar with frustration, anger, shame, helplessness and a load of other emotions that make up our psycho-soup. I try to focus on that frustration, that sense of unfairness, and multiply it.

I've told the producers that I miss the old John Locke. I wish he hadn't found those damn buttons sometimes. But these ups and downs reflect everybody's. You can't always choose the way things go. That's life.

We did "Silver Bullet" (1985) in Wilmington, North Carolina. With Gary Busey. Oh, my goodness. [Laughs.] He said, "Let's go out and play football out on the beach!" And I said, "Okay." He said, "Okay, I'll meet you down there in five minutes!" I went down there and waited an hour, and he never showed up. And I said, "What happened to you yesterday?" He said, "What?" I said, "We were gonna play football!" He said, "We were?" I said, "Yeah!" That was before the accident. So he was always that guy!

The Stepfather was the first time I sort of carried a film, or led in a film, and doing it was fun, and I felt very special. Afterwards, though, I was terrified. I just thought, "Wow, this is basically going to be about me. If this film is a success or a failure, a lot of it's on me!" They released the film just here and there and now and then, and it got critical acclaim, but it was never much of a success in terms of box office. A lot of people watched it after the fact. It's sort of a cult thing. I still have people mention that to me from time to time.

[When asked if anything specific stands out about playing Peter Watts on Millennium] Not really, no. Not so much. I remember Lance [Henriksen] hated exposition. He hated it! [Laughs.] And every time, he'd say, "Terry can say that. Let him say that!" He had trouble with his lines. But he could run the gamut from being the funniest guy you ever heard to one of the moodiest, that you'd just stay away from. But a riveting actor. I don't remember too much else, though. See, Peter to me is, like, one of those un-character guys. You don't know who he is. So many people I've played-and maybe it's because I bring it to it-are kind of undefinable, whether they're wearing the white hat or the black hat, whether they're good or bad. He was just one of the first of those.

"Lost" was great. I'm glad I took it. I mean, I never doubted I would: I had to have a job! I had been unemployed for a good, long while before J.J. called me. I was in Maryland, at home, when he called. He said, "I've got a role for you if you're interested." And I said, "I'm interested!" And he said, "Well, it shoots in Hawaii..." I said, "I'll take it!" And he said, "Well, it's about this..." I said, "Look, okay, go ahead and take your time and talk to me, but I'll tell you: I'll take it." [Laughs.]