When I used to be a contract player in 1954 at Universal, I wasn't getting good roles. I was getting one-liners, and then I'd be gone. But I'd hang around; I'd watch guys. And when I had days off, which was most days, I'd go down and watch other sets while they were shooting. Watch Joan Crawford or whomever. Just watch how they worked and how the director handled them. I didn't know anything about making movies, and there's a lot to learn.

Kids piercing themselves, piercing their tongues, what kind of masochism is that? Is it to show you can just take it?

As you get older you try to do things that please you more. You get a little more selfish. You start thinking I want to do things where I enjoy myself.

We don't even know who's in the Academy.

That's one of the actor's secrets: With everything you do, learn something new about yourself.

We are like boxers, one never knows how much longer one has

I always like to try different things, different genres; stories that have a dramatic element and can generate conflict which I find appealing; where the characters have to overcome obstacles. That kind of thing is challenging.