My main concern is theater, and theater does not reflect or mirror society. It has been stingy and selfish, and it has to do better.

Discipline — both mental and physical — is crucial.

President Obama called for a 'we' nation in his Inauguration Address. Art convenes. It is not just inspirational. It is aspirational. It pricks the walls of our compartmentalized minds, opens our hearts and makes us brave. And that's what we need most in our country today.

Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an inner-value with things in the world around you.

A lot of acting techniques are very self-oriented.

When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country.

Poverty makes it very difficult in an already competitive world for kids to get on a straight track where they can actually love learning.