There are so many directors we could ask you about, but let’s settle for Tarantino. how was it working for him on Inglourious Basterds?

"He’s hilarious and very serious, very committed to what he’s doing. I was interested to learn he dropped out of school somewhere in high school and I think films became his continuing education. He’s self-educated through films. His knowledge is just extraordinary. He has an incredible memory.

"He is also an example of how with some directors you know you are in the best of hands so you can be as ludicrous as the impulse takes you."

When you were growing up, was there a particular film that inspired you to become an actor?

"Strangely enough, I liked Saturday Night Fever! I loved it. But it wasn’t, you know, the bad suits and the dancing, although I can do the hustle [laughs]. It was the idea of people… Well, I didn’t know people could live like that. This idea of a different culture.

"I’d seen only my corner of the world, which was Oklahoma and Missouri, so it’s the idea that there are complete other ways to attack life out there."

So John Travolta’s flares are responsible for your becoming an actor?

"A week before I was supposed to graduate from college, everyone had applied and were receiving jobs. I hadn’t applied anywhere. I didn’t have a clue, nor did I have any interest at that point of going anywhere.

"Then it occurred to me I’d always thought, “I wish I’d grown up in New York or LA because there’s the opportunity to go into films…” And it just struck me one night that, well, I can just do it.

"So within a week I’d decided I was going to go to LA. I’d work for a couple of weeks, pocket some cash, load up the car, and go to LA! And that’s the way it went."