Eric Stoltz

Eric: (On his feelings when acting) I don't know, the feeling that I get in my stomach. I guess it's that butterflies in your stomach kind of feeling. It's like what I would imagine going on a tightrope would be. You feel a little bit scared, a little bit high and a little bit excited. It's a fun life.

Eric: (On his nude scene in Haunted Summer) I love onscreen nudity, especially if it is someone else that is nude. If it is integral to the story, and to the character then, to me, it is a litmus test of an actor's commitment to a role and ability to rise above his or her or society's hangups about the human body. In Haunted Summer I was playing the poet Shelley, who loved to bathe and swim in the nude. It wouldn't have made much sense for me to be frolicking about under a waterfall in Italy in a waistcoat and boots. Although, I must say, I do enjoy gratuitous nudity as long as it's purely exploitative.

Eric: (On independent films) There's a strange sense of accomplishment in making an independent film. Everything's against you; there's no time, and even less money- you bring a bottle of glue, chip in twenty bucks, and hope you all make it through the day. If you manage to finish it and it actually turns out to be pretty good, it's thrilling.