What would happen if you melted? You know, you never really hear this talked about much, but spontaneous combustion? It exists!...[people] burn from within...sometimes they'll be in a wooden chair and the chair won't burn, but there'll be nothing left of the person. Except sometimes his teeth. Or the heart. No one speaks about this, but its for real. My name can't be THAT tough to pronounce! When I don't feel free and can't do what I want I just react. I go against it. [when told he'd have to "bite the bullet"] Yes, but I don't have to eat the whole rifle. I'm a meathead, man. You've got smart people, and you've got dumb people. I just happen to be dumb. I'm sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime. [On being a star] It can still be very surreal. It's easy to become very self-critical when you're an actor. Then you get critiqued be the critics. Whether you agree with them or not, people are passing judgment on you. [On drugs] I've had wonderful experiences. I mean really wonderful. In teaching. Personal epiphanies. About life. About a different perspective -- help with different perspectives that you have. You know what I mean? Relationships to nature. Relationships with the self. With other people. With events. [when asked if he had any fears] I used to have nightmares that they would put "He played Ted" on my tombstone. I'm Mickey Mouse. They don't know who's inside the suit. Here comes 40. I'm feeling my age and I've ordered the Ferrari. I'm going to get the whole mid-life crisis package It's always wonderful to get to know women, with the mystery and the joy and the depth. If you can make a woman laugh, you're seeing the most beautiful thing on God's Earth. [On River Phoenix] You can't blame Hollywood for what happened to River. Kids are doing drugs everywhere in the world. He had his own very personal problems I will never discuss with the press. They're just way too personal. River had a self-destructive side to his personality. He was angry and hurt that he couldn't have a private life once he became famous. He just couldn't deal with having his private life on the front page all the time. [On River Phoenix] River was a remarkable artist and a rare human being. I miss him every day. [On River Phoenix and My Own Private Idaho] We were doing I Love You to Death, and we got the Idaho script. We were driving in a car on Santa Monica Boulevard, probably on the way to a club, and were talking really fast about the whole idea. We were excited. It could have been like a bad dream, a dream that never follows through because no one commits, but we just forced ourselves into it. We said, "Okay, I'll do it if you do it. I won't do it if you don't." We shook hands. That was it.