ON JOURNEY
One place I go often now is South Africa. And I’m not talking about Johannesburg or Cape Town. I stay in a place that is a farm country. Big big open land, big big open skies. The place that I stay is a traditional African hut. Inside is very comfortable, but no electricity. So the challenge there is try to learn how to live without the creature comforts you’re used to. Like a computer, like a TV, a cell phone.
It’s really good for me because, especially my lifestyle here can be very spoiled sometimes you know. Everybody wants to give you the best things, you always have the best things. But can you live as a basic human being, can you live without all that stuff. I think these kinds of things push me or challenge me to expand my horizons. Because the problem with being the same place always in the same time is your world becomes smaller. But what I do is as soon as I finish working on a movie or when I have time to relax or travel, I will go away in travel and try to go to somewhere new or some place different, and try to experience something I’d never experience in my home. And I think that’s the main reason why I do it, to push my mind and try to challenge myself to see the world in a different way.
ON ACTING
But really what it is, is to just broaden your horizons and to look at the world in a wider perspective. I think acting gives me the opportunity to explore that much more. But what I really need to do when I’m not acting is to go out in the world and absorb all that information. And then I keep them in my mind, my library for when I can use them again when I’m acting. I think in my field, in my business, you come across barriers and challenges everyday, and to be able to have the peace of mind to calmly look at the whole situation and learn how to make decisions off that is the most important. I think nowadays it’s very hard for people to be in the moment. You’re always thinking what I got to do next, what happened yesterday, but what’s happening right now, in front of you, are you enjoying that moment in front of you, that’s the most important thing. And that’s what we try to do in acting.
ON LIFE
It’s not necessary about going to a certain place or arriving at a certain goal in life. But the important thing is about what you learn along the way in that journey. And to always keep your mind open about what you see before you get to the destination. Because your destination may not be important, it’s about the experiences along the way and how it enriches you as a human being. So whether it’s traveling or whether it’s your life in general, to always remember to “smell the roses”, to appreciate what’s happening around you, not just focusing on just the end or just the goal. Life will make its turns and you just have to learn to go with the flow and learn how to be ready for that, for every moment that changes in front of you. |