The best thing I ever learned from my dad was he knew he wasn't the best of singers, but he always knew he was a great entertainer, and I always thought that was a good concept to bring along, that ultimately acting is an entertainment art and you have to be aware of the fact that you want people to be excited to be watching you.

My dad's era believed that there was something noble in being a good guy - the kind of guy that lived straight and narrow, told the truth, and stood up for what he believed was right.

To survive in a lot of male-dominated situations - the police, the military, what have you - you put on a bit of the crass, blowhard thing, because you just can't survive being the nice guy in those environments.

I talked to people that I'd done theater with, older actors and stuff. There's a lot of people who go into the business, and they must think they're good, or they wouldn't be in it. Why do you think that you're good enough to go into the business and make money at it? So I really wanted to ask myself that question a lot. Because it was an important kind of thing that I was going to do. I really wanted to do it, I loved it, and I thought that I was good enough that I could make money at it. And that's really what it came down to.

I never had a month or so go by where I haven't had a job, but you always worry that someone will turn off the tap.

I don't get a lot of "Hey, Harvard!" stuff. I think a lot of people who don't know me would be surprised to think that I went there. But no, I don't. You know, I'm from the Midwest, man - that shapes my personality much more than having gone to Harvard.

I think actors who take things too far are funny.