With the success of the last three or so years when a lot of people start treating you differently there's a danger that you may start to think of yourself differently. You rely on your friends to say 'Hey wake up!'
I had come to the point when I realized it was unlikely that my film career was going to move beyond a certain level of role. And I was – because I had graphic instances of it – handicapped by the success of Star Trek. A director would say 'I don't want Jean-Luc Picard in my movie' – and this was compounded by X-Men as well.
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If the film is a hit then everyone shares the success. If it is going to be a disaster then it might as well be because of me not because of somebody else.