"If I had to pick my favorite genre, which I’d prefer not to do, but if I had to, it would be serious comedy. Comedy that makes you laugh and then think. The Great Dictator is the quintessential embodiment of that form. Chaplin takes us from farce to deeply moving material in a breathtaking tour de force, making fun of Hitler without ever diminishing his power and danger. I first saw this film when I was about seven, and it was the reason I became an actor."

"I’ve always been drawn to ensemble work. Renoir’s films constantly give a sense of joyous communal activity. All the characters in this film, as in most of his films, are specific and memorable—and Renoir’s vision of life is never pat: he can go from farce to tragedy in a moment, seamlessly, and all the while managing to be above the emotional content of his films. Understanding of it, compassionate towards his characters, but fearlessly above it. In addition his staging, both of the actors and in the camera work, is breathtakingly imaginative."