I don't know, but let me tell you one quick funny story that my mom told me. My mom has nine children, she was about to have her sixth, she was about to go into labor, and my dad was like, 'Oh God, come on,' and takes her to the hospital, drops her off and says, 'Call me when you're done,' and within like an hour and a half, he had just gotten back to the house, she was already calling him. The delivery was so fast. He didn't believe her, he was like, 'What do you want?' She said, 'What do you mean, we have another boy.'

Do you think that your life is going to change?

It already has. My whole thing was, and it wasn't like, okay, I found that she was pregnant and we were going to have a baby, 'Now, let me just stop going out.' I had already kind of stopped going out and changed my whole way of life. So, it was the right time, and I'm the youngest of nine, but I have thirteen nieces and nephews, and all of my friends and family have children, but I figured the right thing to do was just wait for the right time.

Did you get bored with all of that going out?

Yeah, it runs it course quickly.

Where did you meet your girlfriend?

We met here in New York. We were introduced by a mutual friend.

Can you talk about your relationship with Donald Sutherland, he spoke really, really highly of you?

That's very flattering. I mean, I was always a huge fan of his. I admired him and watched him through most of his career, and he wanted to do this movie, but with guys like that you never really know what to expect. I've always wanted to meet certain guys and thought that they were going to be a certain way because they've played certain roles and they've turned out to be the complete opposite which makes sense, but if you've never been in that world before? My nephew still calls Seth Green his character in 'Austin Powers'. I mean, that's all he knows, and when Tobey Maguire comes over to play basketball, they're like, 'Spider-Man's here, Spider-Man's here,' but I didn't know what to expect, and Donald is one of the most warm and generous guys that I've ever met. I mean, he showed up and won me over right away. He brought over two bottles of French wine and it was like, 'Okay, this guy's a sweetheart,' but to be able to work with a guy like that and have him respect you and be so giving as an actor, it gave me hope for the future. I've been so lucky with the guys that I've been able to work with, but you know, sometimes, guys that you think are going to be great are pricks. It just kind of happens that way.

This is a great film, do you feel that this is the type of films that you should be making?

Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it, and well, I knew we were onto something, but my whole thing is that I still feel like I have so much to learn and who better to learn from than filmmakers. Like, Tim Burton calls me and says, 'Do you want to make a movie,' and I say, 'Great,' and am I hoping that it's going to be like 'Raging Bull', yes, but it turned out to be 'Planet of the Apes' which I wasn't a big fan of. My whole thing is doing stuff that is reality based, but here was Tim Burton and how many times am I going to get a chance to work with him and there's the same thing with Jonathan [Demme], but with this, thank God, the material really jumped out at me, the opportunity to play this part which is something that's different, and Gary [Gray] asked me to do something different from anything that any other director had asked of me, which was to be conscious and trying to be likable because he thought that it was really important for the film to work as a whole, you know, if the central character is a crook that he's really likable. So, I had to ham it up a little bit more, throw in a couple more smiles and winks out there and stuff, but that was something that I never thought about before. I've played likable characters, but that's kind of how they're written, and it was just something that Gary was rally insistent on.

Is it tough for you to promote films that you don't like?

Oh, well, that's what sucked about being food poisoned this morning. It's like, I went to bed at ten o'clock. You know, I'm not usually up for press, and this part of it, obviously. I have no problem supporting my work and I know that the studio spent a lot of money making the movie and they want to make their money back and it's a business, and so, I'll do that, but yes, it's so much easier to talk about something that you enjoy and that you feel proud of.

You went to bed at ten o'clock?

I was in bed at ten o'clock. I went to dinner at seven with Jason Statham and a couple of guys, and I was in bed by ten, and was looking forward to getting up really early and kind of eating and go for a run or something, do something, and just be alive and awake and be ready for the day.

I expect to hear wilder things from you than going to bed at ten?

[Laughs] Listen, six months ago, it was a different story. No, longer than that, a year now.

What was the turning point where you like, 'enough of that'?

Just growing up. It's the same thing all of the time. I'll go out and have a couple of drinks and then, you start looking at women and you're like, 'Oh, God,' and they're all out there.

Didn't you find that it had become too easy?

Well yeah. Well no, I always said, when I was a kid, I couldn't get anyone to pay attention to me, and then, all of a sudden, I became famous and really attractive women were all of a sudden interested in me, and that was amazing for about a week and then, obviously, I realized what it was all about, but I still took advantage of it for another eight years [Laughs], but no, within a week, I knew what they wanted. So, I was very careful and that's why I wasn't married. I didn't marry any actresses, and I don't have a public relationship.

What made Rhea different from the others?

Oh God, just the kind of person that she is, what she wants out of life. I remember going out with people and they would be upset if we didn't go out to my premiere together to be photographed, and I was always very particular about protecting our relationship. I think that other people wanted to promote themselves and do that kind of thing, and she just, you know, she is the kind of person that I was looking for in a girl. I can trust her in ways that I couldn't trust myself and that means a lot to me because I'm very private when it comes to stuff, and my real feelings and thoughts, and she's just amazing that way.

Did you know instantly, was it love at first sight?

No, no, no. No, it was sex at first sight. I mean, we didn't have it, but I wanted to [Laughs]. No, no, we just kind of grew together, and she's got some really strong morals and high standards, and I like that. I mean, I don't know how I fit into that high standard.

How are you going to be a disciplinarian for a guy who's on the record with a lot of bad stuff?

If it was a boy, it would be a lot easier. I'd just smack him around (laughs), but a little girl, it's like, 'Don't do that.' 'What, daddy, I want to do that.' 'Okay.' No, but I am going to make her appreciate what she has.

Are you going to keep life as normal as possible?

Yes.
Donnie said that he'd like to do a movie with you, but that you'd get ten million bucks and he'd get five dollars?

That's how it was meant to be [Laughs].

What are you doing next?

David O'Russell's new script.

Which one?

It's called 'I Love Huckabee's'. It's kind of in the vein of a 'Flirting With Disaster'. There's no action, it was genius.

Have you started?

No. I've started to prepare. He's got me listening to Bob Thurman's 'Jewel Tree', these Tibetan Buddhism tapes.

What's this movie about?

The meaning of life, existential detectives studying and investigating people's lives and coincidences. I'm a fireman, but I'm against petroleum products and the use of petroleum. So, I refuse to ride on the fire truck. I'll ride on my bicycle behind the fire truck. I'm kind of like a working class intellectual. It's an amazing part, and the fact that David wrote this part with me in mind. He's written another script with me as well, and we have a great relationship.

Is it a comedy or a drama?

It's a comedy, and I'm going to make peace with David and George [Clooney]. I'm working with David and then, I'm working with George right after.

What are you doing with George?

This thing called 'The Jacket' which is this really dark drama, but it's something that I'm excited about. It's kind of a cross between 'Jacob's Ladder' and 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'.

What’s that about?

That's a lot of pain and a lot of torture for me, a lot of pain and a lot of torture, a lot of shock therapy. I play this guy who's a decorated war hero in the gulf and gets shot in the head, and kind of loses his memory and then, he gets convicted for murder when he returns from the states.

This is a book, isn't it?

No, no, and then, they send him to a hospital instead of prison because he's a decorated war hero, and they basically torture him. These doctors don't want any violent criminals, and this guy obviously poses a physical threat, he's a very physical guy. They basically just torture the life out of this guy. They put him in this jacket which is like a straight jacket and then, put him in this morgue drawer for days at a time. So, I have to lose like forty pounds.

Don't do it like your brother did it, he said that he screwed himself up doing it that first time around?

It's tough, yeah, you've got to do it the right way.

What’s George doing with that?

George is actually producing it and playing, I think, a small role. [Stephen] Soderbergh found this amazing director. His name is John Mayberry, and he hired him to direct the movie and they're producing.

Are you ready to do that?

I will be after David's movie, but I'm really excited about that, but the more that they put him the drawer, the more that his memory comes back and he remembers the events.

No 'Planet Of The Apes II'?

I said that I would do it if Tim does it, but Tim said that he would rather jump out of the window, and I said, 'Cool, I'll follow you.'

Did you get a Mini car as a production gift?

No, no gifts.

Why?

That's what I was wondering. They said, 'Because you can afford one.'