I come from a working-class background in Queens, New York.

You try to follow suit and the directors I work with, like Sidney Lumet (on film in Before The Devil Knows You're Dead and TV in 100 Centre Street) who thinks actors hung the moon, thinks they can do anything, but he also works really quickly, the same like Clint Eastwood, and so you better also do your homework, you know?

It happens a lot, but I also think of it as not so much like being abandoned by a director 'cause they're worried about a technical aspect, but I think actually that's my job.

The greatest inspiration I draw upon is, is this city (New York) and riding the subway and watching people and I find that's kind of like the best, the best acting teacher. You know, I wonder, like people who have huge celebrity, sometimes I feel bad, should this be one of their methods 'cause I don't know how they can observe life anymore, because they become the observed. So, I, I appreciate that New York can still do that.

Some jobs you do - maybe you don't - are jobs that pay mortgages and some are art and I don't care about not being paid on those.

There are so many choices I made simply for health insurance. Is it the ideal role I wanted to play, or the TV show I wanted to be a part of? No, but it let me afford to go to the doctor.

I enjoyed learning something and, uh, so I think like with anything in life, in the schoolroom in an artistic endeavor, if you have just a really good teacher, it's inspiring. I certainly use, in my work, I mean, I used to rely heavily on imagery. I was obsessed with this photograph that was in the NY Times of a fish engulfing a smaller fish and this smaller fish had this look in its eyes; it knew what was about to happen and, I don't know how they ever captured such an image, but I've used that for a play I (did). It's called "Saved."