"When I made Terminator 3, I learned something about directing actors to behave like robots. And one of the key things I learned is that if an actor tries to play a robot, he or she risks playing it mechanically in a way that makes the performance uninteresting. So how I approached the issue in that film and in Surrogates was instead to focus on erasing human idiosyncrasies and asymmetries—in posture, facial expressions, gait, etc. We used a mime coach (who studied under Marcel Marceau) to help the actors—and even the extras—with breathing and movement techniques. The actors really enjoyed the challenge."

"Shane Dzicek - Jarod Canter"

"Devin Ratray - Bobby Saunders"

"Boris Kodjoe - Andrew Stone"

"Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange."

"[In a firefight; Arthur is defending with an assault rifle] You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling. [hefts a huge grenade launcher]"

"You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter, because we'll be together."

"The dream is real."

"Downward is the only way forward."

"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you."

"Your mind is the scene of the crime."

"The clash of objective reality with our subjective view of the world, that’s pretty interesting stuff. This is something I thought about doing for a very long time. I’ve been thinking about it off and on since I was about 16. It was the approach I wanted to take to an almost alternate reality — approaching the dream life as another state of reality. And one that in certain circumstances can be manipulated."

"Mr. Nolan doesn’t cater to the executives at some big company, he really does what he wants to with a film. He manages to do it within the current big system because he’s that good and he can, but ‘Inception’ and his films aren’t developed by committee. And it wasn’t him saying, ‘How am I going to make a big summer hit?’ ‘Inception’ was about him following his own fascinations."

"[after narrowly escaping an avalanche] Couldn't someone have dreamt up a goddamn beach?!"

"Your condescension, as always, is much appreciated, Arthur."

"Where does reality stop. And the game begin?"

"[after killing Ted] Have I won? Have I won the game? Have I won?"

"You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game."

"Allegra, what if we're not in the game anymore?"

"I want to put the game on pause. The game can be paused, can't it? I mean, all games can be paused, right?"

"Play Or Be Played"

"Play it. Live it. Kill for it."

"Jennifer Jason Leigh — Allegra Geller"

"Jude Law — Ted Pikul"

"Oscar Hsu — Chinese Waiter"

"You don't think the guy who makes the toilets for the Space Shuttle gets to see the plans for the rest of it?"

"Lindsey Connell — Julia"

"Barbara Gordon — Mrs. Paley"

"Neil Crone — Jerry Whitehall"

"Matthew Ferguson — Max Reisler"

"Grace Lynn Kung — Sasha"

"Geraint Wyn Davies — Simon Grady"

"Kari Matchett — Kate Filmore"

"The first one had rules."

"There is more to fear than you can see."

"You won't believe what's waiting in the 4th dimension."

"Welcome to a new dimension in fear."

"Don't be so stupid, Kate. You know time works differently in this place."