Nick Cave

What you're really after when you see a film or listen to a song is a singular vision, and I'm not sure how much of that you really get in Hollywood.

I don't feel I'm thrown around by the winds of taste and fashion.

Most of my ideals and stuff really come from my mother.

I won't go into the details, but I ready myself for the day. I am a high-maintenance type of guy.

I'm a believer. I don't go to church. I don't belong to any particular religion, but I do believe in God. I couldn't write what I write about and be creative without a certain form of belief.

What I'm resistant to is the 'Walk the Line' biopic, where you have this redemptive life done in two hours. It just doesn't wash with me. I've been there and things don't work out that way.

I'm not a misogynist, so you can dispense with that. I think I've done wonders for the feminist movement.

I have a particular dislike for children's films. I'm way past the novelty aspect.

One of my big fears is drying up, and the more I create, the more I feel myself shrinking beneath the backlog of work I've done.

Film seems to be a medium designed for betrayal and violence.

It's an Australian thing to be dismissive. We find that endearing. Americans don't. They believe what you say.

I love performing. I can get to be that person I always wanted to be - godlike.

Being a parent can make you a horrible person at times, because you're pushed to the limit constantly.

I don't write happy songs. Who does? I don't know anybody who writes happy songs, really.

At some point you start seeing the difference between what you really want, and what is your priority order. I feel that today I know what I want. That's the problem with perspective, as well as focus and concentration.

I've always worn suits. To me they're a very practical kind of thing to wear. You put one on and don't really have to think about what you're going to wear.

I don't have any authority to talk about the domestic policies of America. But as an outsider, I am mystified by the fact that you are encouraged to buy a gun, but if you use it for the purpose that it is expressly designed for, you get the death penalty. That aspect of America is kind of mystifying.

Kylie Minogue is the greatest thing that has happened to Australian music.

I consider myself to be first and foremost a comic writer. The way I entertain myself - especially in those long and grim hours in the office - is to write stuff I find funny.

My father was a teacher and my mother also worked in the school, so the family has a background in education.