Due to his long-time friendship with Tommy Lee Jones, the normally private Cormac McCarthy made visits to the set to give advice on his script.
The quote from the german book: "Well, I've always gone my own way. Ich kann nicht anders." White's quoting Martin Luther, who said, "Here I stand. I can do nothing else." White means that he's run out of options intellectually--he can do nothing besides protesting life by embracing death.
In terms of IMDb profile identification numbers, Tommy Lee Jones (169) comes right after Samuel L. Jackson (168).
Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson appeared in Rules of Engagement (2000) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).