You could say I have quite a nice-guy image as an actor ...

You could say I have quite a nice-guy image as an actor and I wanted to do something new, something that might break that mold a bit. I saw how Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck were suddenly praised because they made films. I don't think you get respect as an actor in this town unless you're Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. But you get respect as a filmmaker.