In the same way that Shakespeare was writing very much for his time, he was also unearthing observations that would last for generations beyond him.

My grandfather was from outside of Moscow, and my grandmother, although some of her family were French, was from Odessa. They met as immigrants in New York in the early '20s. My mother's family came over from Ireland generations ago.

I was dishwasher, then promoted to chef in a local kitchen in a restaurant in Seattle, and I was working on a building site as well, putting in insulation and painting houses, and then doing some classes at a community college nearby.

I've got nothing against big-budget values. I mean, I was very proud of The Avengers, the part that I played in it, albeit a small one. It was thrilling to be part of it. But it's so huge that you can never really wrap your mind around it.

The inherent corruption of man can often bring down the best system.

In the same way that Shakespeare was writing very much for his time, he was also unearthing observations that would last for generations beyond him.

That's an important lesson for me, to not qualify my experience against somebody else's. My experience is the experience that I wanted to have, and have created for myself, but it doesn't make me any more deserving than anybody else; or less.