"I remember I had to practise on the whip; I had to learn to crack it properly. I remember thinking about the knot it created in my shoulder, the knot it would create from doing such a physical task as whipping the skin off another human's back."

"That physical memory would stay in the body, my body, Epps' body. The body would retain the memory of what you have done to your fellow man or fellow woman.

"What would the psychological effect of this be? The retention of pain in your body memory? It's got to be stored somewhere. That's what I tried to with Epps. There's a deep conflict in the man."